Reading Eagle
April 8, 2011
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=300068
 |
| John Fidler |
A month ago today, two state representatives wrote to the majority and minority chairmen of the House Judiciary Committee to urge them to hold a hearing and vote their two bills out of committee.
A month later, that hasn't occurred.
But Rep. Louise Williams Bishop, a Philadelphia Democrat, said she believes the time is right for the bills to move ahead.
Her bill - HB 832 - would abolish the statute of limitation for future criminal and civil child sex abuse cases.
She and Rep. Michael McGeehan, also a Philadelphia Democrat, introduced their legislation in the wake of a grand jury report on the sexual abuse of children by priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The report led to felony charges against two priests, one defrocked priest and a parochial-school teacher for allegedly raping and sodomizing two altar boys in the 1990s, according to published accounts.
A monsignor who had served as secretary for clergy was indicted on two counts of child endangerment for his role in assigning the priests, the accounts said.
I asked Bishop what she thought the chances were that her bill would move.
"I don't have a crystal ball," she said. "But I feel more secure now because the level of awareness (of sexual abuse) is higher. We can't afford not to bring it up."
McGeehan's bill - HB 878 - would provide a two-year civil window for adult victims of childhood abuse to access the court system against perpetrators and the entities that employed them.
Plaintiffs would have to prove gross negligence on the part of the entity.
McGeehan, a Catholic, said he was inspired to action after the most recent grand jury report.
"I realized that the archdiocese was incapable of policing itself, that only through law-enforcement action and action by the Legislature could that be done," he said. "I was shocked and appalled by the extent of the knowledge of abuse that was tolerated. We must hold them (the church) accountable."
Both McGeehan and Bishop emphasized that their proposed legislation is not aimed solely at the Catholic Church.
"We want to help all children who have been sexually abused," Bishop said.
"Most people gave the church the benefit of the doubt after the first grand jury report," McGeehan said.
But with the recent release of the second grand jury report and the filing of criminal charges, McGeehan said, "We don't have that luxury now."
McGeehan was ready to respond to those who say the legislation is not necessary because memories fade.
"I say that the victims are on their own timetable and are ready to come forward at different times of their lives," she said.
I know at least two people who will be watching these bills closely.
Mark Rozzi and Joe Behe have told me their stories of sexual abuse that they said occurred at the hands of the Rev. Edward Graff at Holy Guardian Angels school in Hyde Park in the 1980s. Their courage continues to astound me.
I wonder if the Judiciary Committee, under the leadership of Majority Chairman Ron Marsico, a Dauphin County Republican, and Minority Chairman Tom Caltagirone, a Reading Democrat, will be able to muster even a small percentage of the courage of these brave men by following McGeehan's and Bishop's lead and conducting a hearing and voting the bills out of committee.
It would begin to alleviate the suffering of Mark, Joe and so many others after the horror and humiliation of being sexually abused by adults they trusted, whether in homes or schools, backyards or vehicles, or in parish rectories all those years ago, while a church that was supposed to protect them looked the other way.
John Fidler is a copy editor and writer at the Reading Eagle. He holds a master's degree in English from the University of Chicago. Contact him at 610-371-5054 or jfidler@readingeagle.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.