Law must change on church abuse statute of limitation

It is deja vu all over again for Pennsylvania Catholics.

First it was the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. That was in 2005.

Then it was Altoona-Johnstown.

The story was always the same: Priests abusing children, and their superiors covering it up.

Everyone vowed it could never be allowed to happen again. Then it did, and it got worse. This week Attorney General Josh Shapiro issued a damning grand jury report that laid bare the depravity of more than 300 priests in six Pennsylvania dioceses abusing more than 1,000 children, boys and girls. And Shapiro indicated the likelihood that there were at least that many more who could not be identified.

The question now becomes — once again — what can be done to keep this from happening again.

We have heard from the Vatican, which issued a statement Thursday condemning the abuses detailed by the grand jury as “criminally and morally reprehensible” and expressing “shame and sorrow.”

The statement came from the Vatican press office. Pope Francis has not yet personally weighed in.

The statement did indicate the pontiff wants to eradicate “this tragic horror.”

Unfortunately, as detailed by Shapiro, the statute of limitations has expired on nearly all of these horrific offenses.

Several local bishops and church leaders offered statements expressing dismay at the charges, and offering to meet personally with victims and do what they can to make amends. We have a suggestion. Stop the church’s opposition to measures in Harrisburg that would give these victims their day in court, some measure of justice for the abuse heaped upon them.

Shapiro actually offered a challenge to Pennsylvania bishops in his damning report. He urged them to drop their stance and support legislation in Harrisburg that would open a two-year window to allow victims of past abuse to bring civil actions against the church.

State Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-126 of Berks County, himself a victim of priest abuse, has championed victims’ causes in Harrisburg.

His bill, HB612, would open a two-year window for victims of past abuse to file claims. Much like the various grand jury reports detailing the horrors of clergy abuse, it is not Rozzi’s first effort at reform. Back in 2016 the House passed House Bill 1947, which would do much the same thing. Faced with a vigorous opposition from the church, Catholic groups and the insurance industry, it got bottled up in the Senate.

Now Rozzi is back. A similar bill, SB261, has passed the Senate. It now goes to the House. The bill would specifically allow a victim of abuse to file a claim up until the age of 50. Currently those claims expire at age 30, which critics say is long before some victims are able to come to grips with their abuse and come forward with claims.

Another aspect of the bill would eliminate any statute of limitations on bringing criminal charges in such cases, even if that would only apply to future cases.

The state’s bishops have for the most part been silent on Shapiro’s recommendation.

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, while saying it was “devastated and outraged by the revelations of terrible sexual abuse crimes committed in the Catholic Church,” added that “the time to discuss legislation will come later.”

Victims have waited long enough. The silence that has tortured them for decades needs to be wiped away.

There is a concern – and a valid one – over the devastating economic impact such changes in the law could have on the church. In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, several corrective measures have been put in place to change the policies of the past that laid the foundation for the cover-up, including simply moving problem priests from one parish to another.

This legislation is one way to be sure that church officials forever change the way they handle abuse and take real steps to protect children.

Republican House Majority Leader Dave Reed is vowing to make another push in September.

We will wait to see what happens in Harrisburg. And we urge them to do the right thing and give victims this opportunity.

And hope that the deja vu that Pennsylvania Catholics are recoiling from in the wake of one more damning grand jury report does not repeat itself in the state capital.