For One D.C. Official, Church Sex Abuse Scandal Hits Close to Home

By Katie Davis
WAMU
September 24, 2015

http://wamu.org/news/15/09/24/for_one_dc_official_church_sex_abuse_scandal_hits_close_to_home

A bill introduced by Grosso, who says he was abused at his church, would eliminate the statute of limitations on civil actions against those accused of sex crimes involving minors.

These past three days, we've been hearing loud cheers for Pope Francis. But this afternoon, a sharper call was made in Washington — this one for justice.

D.C. Council member David Grosso (I-At Large) joined a rally of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests at the Wilson Building today.

Grosso says he listened to Pope Francis' message to the Catholic Bishops yesterday. He says he was hoping the pope would hold them accountable for abuse committed in the church, but came away disappointed.

"Basically the pope thanked for efforts, which is not an accurate assessment. They have done everything they can to stop, across the country, a real open conversation around how we heal from this sexual violence," he says.

Grosso is adamant, and he doesn't just want an open conversation about the issue. He introduced legislation earlier this year that would eliminate the statute of limitations for the recovery of damages arising out of sexual abuse that occurred when a victim was a minor.

He says that the bill came out of a personal experience.

"I'm Catholic. I grew up in the church, and I had a situation happen to me when I was a teenager, so it's personal for me," he says. "Because when I came out with it in my early 20s and told my family about it, the reality was that there was nothing we could do because the statute of limitations in Virginia was so low that I couldn't go after them in a court."

Grosso says he received a settlement and that the priest was removed from the church. But that priest faced no legal consequences.

The legislation is awaiting a hearing in the D.C. Council.