Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf Calls for New Laws Rather Than Fund for Church Abuse Victims

NBC 10
August 31, 2018

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Clergy-Sex-Abuse-Fund-Tom-Wolf-492192821.html

Pennsylvania's governor says he's against a proposal to compensate victims of child sexual abuse by priests through a church-run fund, saying lawmakers instead should amend state law to let victims sue over decades-old events.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday changes to the state's statute of limitations and other proposals in a recent grand jury report "would deliver what victims deserve," but a fund outside the court system wouldn't.

Wolf says the Legislature should pass reforms proposed in the jury's 900-page report issued earlier this month.

The jury concluded hundreds of "predator priests" sexually abused at least 1,000 children going back seven decades.

Earlier this week, the top-ranking Republican in the state Senate floated the idea of a church-established victim fund, and some church officials have reacted positively.