COLUMBUS (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
BY DAN HORN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
COLUMBUS - Victims of sexual abuse by priests asked the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday to allow them to sue the Catholic Church, even if the deadline for filing such lawsuits expired decades ago.
A lawyer for abuse victims argued that the emotional trauma they suffered made it impossible for many to file lawsuits in the time allowed under Ohio's statute of limitations.
Under current law, victims are required to sue within two years after they turned 18.
More than 60 people in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati - and dozens of others statewide - have sued church officials for failing to protect them from abusive priests.
Many of those cases have been dismissed in lower courts because the lawsuits were filed years, or even decades, after the statute of limitations expired.