Institutional Religious Liberty vs. Protection of Children

Such appears to be the fundamental conflict in a Bay Area lawsuit, where alleged abuse victims are arguing they ought to be able to sue the Church for negligent hiring, firing and supervision of abusive priests. (link via Amy Welborn)

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw issued a temporary ruling Thursday stating a 2002 state law temporarily lifting the statute of limitation on damage suits against institutions that protected known child molesters gave abuse victims the right to sue.

Arguing for the church, lawyer Paul Gaspari said the Constitution forbade punishing the church for the standards it sets for the ordination of priests.

"If a religious institution chooses to ordain a known child molester that it felt had truly repented, it has that constitutional right," Gaspari said. "The government may not second-guess that choice."

Marci Hamilton, a lawyer assisting the abuse victims' legal team, argued that repentance was not relevant to the issue of culpability.