CATHOLICS BRACE FOR ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

Bracing for a new wave of sexual abuse lawsuits, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles warned parishioners in a letter read Sunday that a state law scheduled to take effect in January will allow alleged victims to revive decades-old claims against the church.

Many parishioners interviewed outside Sunday Masses in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys said the state law, which was passed in June with little notice, could unleash a new and mostly unjustified feeding frenzy against the church.

``I think the Catholic Church has been persecuted too much already,'' said Timothy Mulholland of Reseda, who attended Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Grace in Encino. ``This is just opening up another can of worms. The statute of limitations ought to be honored in these cases.''

Others said the anticipated lawsuits, unpleasant as they may be, would force church authorities to account for past abuses and ensure that no one is victimized again.

``Nobody wants the destruction of the Catholic Church,'' said Carlos Perez Carrillo of Sylmar, a member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. ``If this kind of litigation sets the stage for accountability in the future, then the church and other institutions won't be able to get away with it again.''

The letter from California bishops about the state law and potential for new claims received relatively little attention at several Valley Masses. At Our Lady of Grace, it was only a footnote to a service that called for global peace and warned children against becoming materialistic at Christmastime.

The letter, distributed over the weekend at all California parishes, does not ask parishioners to take action. Instead, it outlines steps that the Catholic Church has taken to prevent sexual abuse, such as lay-majority review boards and increased cooperation with civil authorities.

Los Angeles Archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg said the letter is intended to pre-empt claims that the archdiocese has not responded vigorously to allegations of sexual abuse involving priests.

``We're going to be hearing a lot of rhetoric from lawyers filing these cases that the Catholic Church doesn't get it,'' Tamberg said. ``We don't want, and our Catholic people don't want, another generation of victims another 20 years from now. The Catholic Church is probably the safest environment for a child today of any institution in America.''

Since 1985, the Los Angeles Archdiocese has paid $3.4 million to settle claims of sexual abuse involving priests, Tamberg said. Archdiocese leaders can't forecast whether the new state law will result in a tidal wave of new claims or merely a trickle, he said.

Last June, the state Legislature unanimously approved a law suspending the statute of limitations for filing civil lawsuits in cases of childhood sexual abuse. Previously, a victim could not sue after his or her 26th birthday or more than three years after discovering psychological injury or illness related to the abuse.

Bishops did not lobby against the bill before it was passed in June. But in the letter given to parishioners over the weekend, the California bishops write that resuscitating long-ago abuse claims could run afoul of the ``fair and vigorous search for truth (that) has been part of the very foundation of our American system of justice for more than two centuries.''

Many parishioners interviewed on Sunday agreed.

``Who can recall what happened 20, 30 years ago?'' asked Ted Conception of Reseda, interviewed outside St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Winnetka. ``Why do they attack the universal church? There are other Christian faiths that do the same thing.''

Chago Garcia of Reseda said new lawsuits could further restrict the Los Angeles Archdiocese's ability to feed and clothe homeless people, help pay the rent of people who have fallen on hard times and other charitable works.

``People think the Catholic Church has a lot of money,'' he said.

Not everyone defended the church's position. Some parishioners said they were torn between supporting a church that has done many good deeds and demanding justice for abuse victims. Others said the wounds are still too raw to speak publicly.

At Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Newhall, Valencia resident Liz Fairholm said the church shouldn't try to duck its responsibilities under the law.

``I support the law, and I'm very angry that the church is working to overturn it,'' she said. ``Molesters and abusers and those who protected them should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.''

Staff Writer Heather MacDonald contributed to this report.