In Minnesota, 100s take opportunity to sue over sex abuse

In St. Paul, the resignations last year of Archbishop John Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piche came days after the archdiocese was criminally charged with child endangerment over its handling of an abusive priest who ultimately went to prison.

The Archdiocese turned down an interview request with Archbishop-designate Bernard Hebda or other top officials for this story, instead issuing a statement saying the archdiocese is doing everything reasonably possible to prevent the sexual abuse of children.

Connecticut and Massachusetts raised their age limits for filing claims and made the change retroactive, an approach she said can help more victims since it's not temporary.

Simon said he was particularly rankled by the Senate chaplain — who was also the archdiocese's point man for handling allegations of clergy misconduct — lobbying House members.

The church's opposition has been more public in Pennsylvania, where the House voted last month to raise the age limit for those who file cases from 30 to 50 and to make it retroactive.