Cases against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee arising out of incidents of sexual abuse of children by Fr. Siegfried Widera were dismissed because they were filed too late.
The attorney for the three plaintiffs contended the clock began running only when news reports on Widera's suicide discussed the priest's 1973 felony conviction.
"The plaintiffs had a duty to act on their claims when they were discovered," [Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael] Guolee said, "and they were discovered no later than the last act (of sexual abuse)."
Peter Isely of SNAP [Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests] is quoted advocating temporarily removing any statute of limitations for such claims. Governor Doyle's spokeswoman, Melanie Fonder, says the governor supports this idea.
"The governor thinks that people who are victimized as children should be able to come forward at any time," Fonder said.
It's hard to see the logic of that, compared to the law as it was, under which the statute of limitations did not begin to run until the victim became an adult. Of course, our Archdiocese cannot manage to say this. Instead of explaining the justice of the statute of limitations defense its lawyers assert on its behalf,
In a written statement, Archdiocese spokeswoman Kathleen Hohl described Monday's decision as "an issue of a court applying case law" and said the Archdiocese labors to help victims of clergy abuse, including through a full-time victims' assistance coordinator.
This makes even Marquette University's public relations look good.
To give SOME credit to the Archdiocese' PR folks, at least they didn't say what they COULD have: "The laws of the State of Wisconsin are clear. The filing was way, way, way too late. Sorry. Zero."
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