PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat
By John Finnerty
jfinnerty@cnhi.com
HARRISBURG – Amid outrage over hundreds of cases of child sexual abuse committed by priests, lawmakers are now divided over how much time victims should have to seek justice.
A proposal to lift the time limit for prosecution of sex-abuse crimes, in current form, only looks to the future but does nothing for victims of long-ago crimes.
Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, calls it a “slap in the face.”
Rozzi, himself a survivor of sexual abuse by a priest, has led efforts to eliminate statutes of limitations.
He plans a proposal to allow victims of old crimes to sue their abusers, he said, which will bring forward victims “from every corner of the state.”
Debate is unfolding in the aftermath of a grand jury’s finding that priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese abused hundreds of children, over four decades – actions that the report says were covered up by church leaders.
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