Refusing to leave it to divine chance, the Catholic Conference in New York has turned in recent years to some of Albany’s most influential and well-connected lobby firms to have a bill that would make it easier for victims of child sex abuse to seek justice blocked. The conference, headed by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, sought help from lobby firms such as Patricia Lynch & Associates, Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelmen & Dicker, Mark Behan Communications and Hank Sheinkopf to rouse support against the state’s Child Victims Act among other measures.

As reported, the conference spent over $2.1 million to lobby from 2007 to 2015 though that does not include the conference’s internal lobbying team. State record of the filings reveal how the lobbyists in question were retained, in part, to push issues associated with “timelines for starting certain civil actions linked to sex offences” and “the statute of limitations”. Other issues include investment tax credits and parochial school funding.

“They are willing to spend limitless money in order to basically keep bad guys from being accountable for their actions,” said Melanie Blow, chief operations officer of the Stop Abuse Campaign. “I think they’re doing it because they don’t want to have to pay out settlements,” while Kathryn Robb, an advocate and survivor of abuse, added, “If they need to spend that much money on lobbying, clearly, then, they have some pretty big secrets to hide.”

Advocates for survivors of child sex abuse believe the $2.1 million spent by the Catholic Conference would likely represent a worthwhile investment if it continues to block legislation that aims at eliminating the statute of limitations on civil cases of child sex abuse by opening a yearlong window to introduce lawsuits for victims who can no longer seek help under the existing law. On the other hand, the conference has argued that opening a yearlong window to revisit old cases could eventually bankrupt the Roman Catholic Church.

The lobby firms chosen by the Catholic Conference seem telling.

Wilson Elser for instance has not only been one of Albany’s biggest lobby firms but it has also represented the conference from 2007 to 2015 after being paid over $1 million, according to online filings with New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics. After several important members either reduced their responsibilities or left the firm, the Church refused to renew its contract with Wilson Elser in 2016, sources confirmed. The firm, which was earlier being paid $10,000 a month by the conference, had nothing to say.

According to state records, the conference went on to hire another prominent lobby firm in its place, paying it $6,000 a month. A lobbyist from Greenberg Traurig, Michael Murphy, who currently represents the Church, used to serve as an assistant counsel for Senate Republicans. Needless to say, the Senate GOP too opposes the yearlong “lookback” window that is being pushed by Democrats.

The proposed legislation by Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblywoman Margaret Markey hopes to eliminate the time limit that disallows adults, who may have been victimized as children, from initiating civil cases over their abuse following their 23rd birthday.

Another leading lobby firm, Patricia Lynch & Associates, was hired by the conference in 2009, after having ranked in the top three well-paid lobbyists for several years. The firm was hired after the Assembly passed four different versions of the Child Victims Act from 2006 to 2008 and coincidentally, the measure never came up for a vote again thereafter.

“Once Ms. Lynch lobbied for the Catholic Conference, Mr. Silver’s support for our bill ended, and the bill did not come out of the Assembly’s Codes Committee ... which as speaker, he controlled,” wrote John Aretakis, a former lawyer and an advocate for victims of clergy sex abuse, in a scathing letter to a judge handling Silver's recent criminal sentencing.

According to state records, the conference ended its contract with Patricia Lynch & Associates earlier this year, soon after Lynch was outed in court documents as having had an affair with Silver. Silver was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of federal corruption charges in May. When asked, Lynch, whose lobby firm was being paid $7,500 a month while the contract lasted, said it came to an end via mutual consent.

In the meantime, Sheinkopf happens to share close ties with Governor Cuomo, the former head of Senate Democrats while they were in charge of the chamber as well as Senate Republicans. Just like the other lobby firms, which were hired by the conference, Sheinkopf too refused to divulge details about what services he renders for the $5,000 a month fee that he is being paid at the moment.

“They like me,” he said. “They think I’m smart.”

Catholic Conference spokesperson, Dennis Poust, refused to comment on the Church’s lobbying efforts. He also refrained from clarifying why certain lobby firms were being hired and not others.

“The Catholic Conference lobbies on many issues, from assisted suicide to farm worker rights to school choice to criminal justice reform,” Poust said.

He stressed however that the conference’s lobbying activities were in full compliance with the law and are regularly reported, as per guidelines, to the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

“As such it is all a matter of public record,” Poust said. “We have no further comment beyond that.”

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