PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com
by Maria Panaritis, STAFF WRITER
With the fate of a child sex-abuse bill on the line in Harrisburg, clergy sex-abuse victims and their relatives told their stories Tuesday as part of a renewed push to change Pennsylvania law so victims can sue for decades-old attacks.
A bill that passed the House in April would have, among other things, expanded the statute of limitations so victims age 50 and under could sue the men or women who abused them decades ago, as well as the institutions that supervised them.
Citing concerns about its constitutionality and after critics, notably the Catholic Church, warned the measure could unfairly cripple some parishes, the Senate removed that provision.
It left intact provisions to eliminate the criminal statute of limitations for such acts and to apply the expanded civil statute of limitations to all future victims. The bill still needs full approval by the House and Senate.
Rep. Mark Rozzi (D., Berks) a key proponent of the original law and organizer of Tuesday’s gathering, said he was not sure he would support what’s left of the measure.
With only a few weeks left in the current legislative session, Rozzi said he and House leaders were considering pushing to amend the Senate’s version of the bill but also were weighing whether to just wait and revive the fight for retroactive lawsuits after a new legislature arrives January.
Rozzi noted the revelations last week that the Attorney General’s office has expanded its criminal probe of clergy sex abuse to include six of Pennsylvania’s eight Catholic dioceses. He also cited the arrest of an Allentown area priest last week on child pornography charges.
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