PENNSYLVANIA
Lancaster Online
Editorial
THE ISSUE
Earlier this month, Lancaster County religious leaders from a mix of Christian denominations added their names to a letter to the state Senate Judiciary Committee. They urged quick passage in the Senate of House Bill 1947, which was approved overwhelmingly in the state House in April. The bill would abolish the statute of limitations for future criminal cases of child sexual abuse, and extend by 20 years the time for victims to bring civil suits against their assailants and an agency whose negligence enabled the abuse. Victims would have until age 50 to initiate civil cases under the bill. The proposed law would be retroactive, meaning victims now 30 to 50 years old could still bring civil suits. The retroactive provision in the bill is strongly opposed by the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference — the public affairs arm of the Catholic dioceses in this state — and the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the bill last Monday.
We applaud the more than two dozen local Christian leaders who have taken a public stand on the side of victims of childhood sexual abuse.
They include the Rev. Dr. Carol Lytch, president of the Lancaster Theological Seminary; Beth Kuttab, president of Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness; and ministers and deacons from Brethren, Episcopal, Mennonite, United Methodist, Lutheran and United Church of Christ churches.
The letter they signed, which was circulated by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, called the sexual abuse of a child “a great sin, as well as a crime,” and asserted that “survivors deserve the opportunity to seek justice and hold those who harmed them accountable.”
We hold this view, too.
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