Contact: Jeff Field, Director of Communications, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, 212-371-3191, catalyst@catholicleague.org

NEW YORK, April 20 /Standard Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue sent the following letter to Connecticut lawmakers today:

Dear Connecticut Legislator:

Some Catholics who support H.B. 5473, the bill that eliminates the statute of limitations for cases of sexual abuse, are falsely positioning themselves as being a legitimate competitor to the voice of the bishops. No group has irresponsibly assumed this mantle of authority more than Voice of the Faithful.

To be sure, lay Catholics have a right to speak to all public policy issues that touch on the affairs of the Catholic Church. But no lay Catholic organization has the right to portray itself as a substitute to the canonical authority of the bishops. That is what Voice of the Faithful has done.

In its recent letter to you, Voice of the Faithful unjustly condemns the bishops for seeking to "mislead, mischaracterize and spin the facts in an effort to preserve their temporal, rather than spiritual, authority." In doing so, it not only goes well beyond the pale for even a dissident Catholic organization--it betrays an animus so vile as to rival the antics of rank anti-Catholics.

Voice of the Faithful is not only financially bankrupt (a reflection of its abysmally low membership), it has shown itself to be morally bankrupt as well. Unlike loyal lay Catholic sons and daughters who support the palpable reforms made by their bishops, those who support this group have never found a reform worth cheering. In other words, nothing the bishops can ever do is enough to satisfy them.

The Catholic League respectfully asks that you weigh the real-life concerns of the bishops regarding the draconian implications of this bill. And we ask that you not be distracted by those who harbor an agenda of their own.

www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1834