In response to inquiries regarding the Maryland Catholic Conference’s position on legislation that is expected to be introduced during the 2023 Maryland legislative session regarding statutes of limitations for civil litigation involving cases of child sexual abuse, the Conference offers the following statement:
The Catholic Church in Maryland will support legislation that may be introduced during the 2023 Maryland General Assembly session that prospectively eliminates the statute of limitation in civil lawsuits involving cases of child sexual abuse. Similar legislation was recently signed into law at the federal level. That bipartisan federal legislation also allows individuals an unlimited amount of time to file civil litigation in future cases of child sexual abuse.
For some victims of such crimes, it may take decades before they are able to come forward to report their abuse. In the past, the Catholic Church in Maryland has supported efforts to extend the age by which victim-survivors may file civil suits. Currently, the law in Maryland allows victims until the age of 38 to file such claims, an extension that was supported by the Church in 2017. Fortunately, in Maryland, there currently also is no statute of limitations on the criminal prosecution of child sexual offenders, meaning perpetrators can already be held criminally responsible until the day they die.
The Maryland Attorney General has concluded, in multiple advice letters, that legislation that seeks to retroactively revive claims currently time-barred in Maryland would be unconstitutional, another reason the Catholic Church supports prospective legislation.
The Catholic bishops serving Maryland reiterate their commitment to policies already in place to protect children and to advance healing for those harmed, and again offer heartfelt apologies to those harmed at any time by a representative of the Church. The bishops pledge their continued support of efforts that promote healing for victim-survivors, protect young people and hold abusers accountable.