PENNSYLVANIA
Reading Eagle
By Liam Migdail-Smith
State Rep. Nick Miccarelli said he’s developed a thick skin as a lawmaker.
But the Delaware County Republican said that didn’t prepare him for what he saw last week in the weekly bulletin of the church where he faithfully attends Mass and confesses his sins.
The blurb was amid routine notices: “State Representative Miccarelli voted in favor of House Bill 1947 which states that private institutions can be sued as far as 40 years ago for millions of dollars, while public institutions may not be sued for any crimes committed in the past.”
“I was baffled at first,” Miccarelli said. “And then I was upset.”
In addition to giving an overly simplified (and factually inaccurate) account of the bill he backed to support victims of child sexual abuse, he said, the notice came without warning. He said he heard similar stories from other Catholic lawmakers who had supported the measure.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Miccarelli fired back.
“To explain to the citizens of my district that I bear no ill will toward the Church I belong to, is something that I never thought I would have to do,” he wrote. “Frankly, I would much rather be chastised from the altar, than to be damned for not allowing justice to be done.”
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