December 06, 2005

Balance financial concerns of churches with justice for sexual abuse victims

PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call

A three-year investigation by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office revealed how two cardinals and top aides hid decades of sexual abuse in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. As in a number of other places in the United States, the district attorney's report in September showed diocese leaders put more emphasis on protecting accused priests than they did in seeking help for victims and preventing further abuse.

Victims, with guidance from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, have sought criminal and civil recourse with varying degrees of success, depending on state statutes. But there are other invisible victims of civil suits filed against a Catholic diocese: the vast majority of priests who are innocent, their parishioners, and parochial schools and social services for the needy.

The ripple effect of large monetary settlements can be enormous, yet, an offending parish or diocese must be held accountable and victims compensated. That's why a behind-the-scenes effort to reach a compromise in Harrisburg is commendable: A bill to allow a one-year window to file suits for crimes outside the statute of limitations would not go forward. In return, the state's Catholic dioceses would put up millions of dollars for a victim compensation fund for the more than 100 victims who testified before the grand jury in Philadelphia.

Posted by kshaw at December 6, 2005 07:44 AM