Maine Catholic Church Hit With More Sex Abuse Claims Under Revised Law

Four people in Maine have filed lawsuits with claims that they were sexually abused by Catholic priests as children.

Three men sued the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland on Thursday in Cumberland County Superior Court. The men allege they were abused by priests as children decades ago.

Another lawsuit is from a woman who sued the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Eastern Province in U.S. District Court in Bangor. Her lawsuit alleges that she was sexually abused by priests in the 1950s at a Maine seminary and retreat house run by the order, the Bangor Daily News reported.

The lawsuits come on the heals of 2021 state law changes that took away a statute of limitations. Several other similar lawsuits are active in the state.

The diocese and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.