Greensburg Priest's Victim Calls on Pa. to Ease Path for Lawsuits against Catholic Church

By Shelly Bradbury
The Post-Gazette
October 28, 2019

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/faith-religion/2019/10/29/satute-limitations-pennsylvania-clergy-sex-abuse-john-sweeney-greensburg-catholic-church/stories/201910290134

The Roman Catholic priest who sexually abused a 10-year-old boy is in prison — but that’s not enough, his victim said Tuesday.

Josh Kiley, 37, of California, called Tuesday for Pennsylvania to make it easier for victims of abuse to file lawsuits against the Catholic church. His remarks came during a Downtown press conference nearly a year after John T. Sweeney, formerly a priest in the Diocese of Greensburg, was sent to prison for abusing Mr. Kiley.

Sweeney, who turns 77 on Wednesday, last year pleaded guilty to abusing Mr. Kiley in the early 1990s when the priest was working at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Lower Burrell. Sweeney was sentenced to up to five years in prison and is housed at State Correctional Institution Mercer in Findley Township, Mercer County.

Mr. Kiley, who is seeking $20 million from the Diocese of Greensburg but cannot file a lawsuit because of the statute of limitations, said Tuesday that state legislators should either get rid of the civil statute of limitations — which requires lawsuits to be filed before the victim turns 30 — or open up a window for victims of priest abuse to file lawsuits against the church.