PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Angela Couloumbis
Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
It took State Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf (R., Montgomery) more than a decade to change a sliver of Pennsylvania law that dealt with sexual abuse of children.
Even so, the law that was passed in 2002 in the wake of the sexual-abuse scandal that shook the Roman Catholic Church is still weaker than those in other states. So are related laws that govern how the state deals with abusers, as prosecutors who pursued sexual-abuse allegations in the Philadelphia Archdiocese pointed out in a report last week.
The grand jury report found that dozens of priests sexually abused hundreds of children while Philadelphia archdiocese officials excused - and enabled - the abuse. The archdiocese has called the report slanted, biased and anti-Catholic.
But the grand jurors said they could not pursue criminal charges against priests or any of their superiors because of restrictions in Pennsylvania law.
State law "stands in the way of justice for victims of childhood sexual abuse," the grand jurors wrote, and emphasized the need for changes in the law. They cited handicaps in the statutes of limitations, reporting requirements, and definitions of sexual-abuse crimes.