ALBANY — Timothy Cardinal Dolan, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and archbishop of New York, is urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers to reject pending bills to codify abortion rights and open a window for victims of child sex abuse to sue for old incidents.
Joined by other Catholic bishops from around New York, Dolan says they are “bolstered” by Cuomo’s assurances Monday that following last year’s legalization of gay marriage, which they opposed, he’ll protect their religious freedom to not go along.
Regarding abortions, Dolan says that rather than expanding that legal right, they want to see it narrowed. He says Cuomo gave them “no assurances.”
He says opening a one-year window for sex abuse suits now barred by a statute of limitation would devastate parish finances.