Washington Archdiocese Legally Challenges MD Child Victims Act

WASHINGTON, DC — The Archdiocese of Washington this week became the first entity to legally challenge a new Maryland law that removes the statute of limitations for lawsuits regarding child sex abuse in the state, according to multiple reports.

The challenge by the archdiocese — which includes Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's counties in Maryland, along with the District of Columbia — seeks to dismiss two lawsuits filed in Montgomery and Prince George's counties by survivors of sexual abuse, the Washington Post reported.

The motion to dismiss the cases claims the Maryland Child Victims Act violates the state constitution by allowing previously barred claims to be revived, according to the Post.

"A statute of 'repose,' by its very nature, cannot be retroactively 'repealed,' and the legislature's effort to do so was a clear violation of the due process clause and takings clause of the Maryland Constitution," lawyers for the Archdiocese of Washington wrote in a filing obtained by the Baltimore Sun.

The Maryland Child Victims, which went into effect Oct. 1, lifted the statute of limitations that prohibited victims from suing their abusers or the institutions that employed them after a specific amount of time had passed.

Just before the law was enacted, the Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in anticipation of a wave of lawsuits. The filing came three days after Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown released a substantially unredacted version of a 463-page grand jury report detailing allegations of sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the cover-up of that abuse by Catholic church leadership.

• Related: Baltimore Archdiocese Files For Bankruptcy Ahead Of Likely Lawsuits

According to an Associated Press report, the Baltimore Archdiocese has paid over $13.2 million for care and compensation for 301 abuse victims, including $6.8 million toward 105 voluntary settlements in the past four decades.

The archdiocese has reported nearly $250 million in assets, according to the Banner. In the bankruptcy filings, church lawyers estimated the organization has 1,000 to 5,000 creditors and liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion.

The class-action lawsuit filed in Prince George's County against the Archdiocese of Washington claims three men were abused as children by priests, deacons or other diocese employees while they attended churches or schools in Prince George's or Montgomery counties, according to the Sun.

In the motion to dismiss the case, the archdiocese denied the allegations, reports said.

In a statement provided to Patch, the Archdiocese of Washington said that despite taking legal action, it remains "committed... to our longstanding efforts to bring healing to survivors through pastoral care and other forms of assistance that are available apart from the legal process."

"We are also committed to maintaining our robust safe environment policies that have been in place for decades to ensure the protection of all those who are entrusted to our care," the statement continued.

To submit a report of child abuse in the archdiocese, complete this form and email it to ChildProtection@adw.org. You can also contact the Office of Child and Youth Protection & Safe Environment at 301-853-5328.