Governor Andrew Cuomo called on the Child Victims Act to be passed this year during his State of the State Address Tuesday, invoking a quote from the Pope while doing so.
"'It's a crime, no, worse! It's leaving them alive, but destroyed...' That is a true statement and the Catholic Church should understand that, and that statement was made by Pope Francis," Cuomo said.
A form of the bill is likely to pass this year with the assembly and senate both under Democratic control.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said he plans to go to Albany to advocate for its passage.
In particular, Flynn said he's interested on how the final bill will affect the statute of limitation for most sexual assault offenses.
"They can eliminate the statute for all offenses, they could extend it for five more years, 10 more years, we'll see what they do," Flynn said.
James Faluszczak, an abuse victim and a former priest, said he is cautiously optimistic that the Child Victims Act will pass, but he does worry there will be some concessions to get it done.
"Is there gonna be an age cap on the CVA? Is the look-back window gonna be two years, which we hope, or will it be less than that?" he wondered.
Faluszczak said he hopes there is no limit on monetary compensation to victims from the Catholic Church, but he said after speaking with other victims, the biggest issue is making church files on priests available to the public.
"I think that getting at the truth of this issue is more important to most of us than money is," Faluszczak said.