PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News
John Baer
In the wake of the Catholic Church pedophile scandal and the Jerry Sandusky child-sex charges, their are sweeping changes in child abuse laws — already adopted or being considered.
They mostly concern reporting periods and statutes of limitations that, for example, prevented charging numerous Philadelphia priests and supervisors who covered-up abuse as detailed in a graphic 2005 grand jury report.
At the time, state law required victims to report abuse by age 23. So the report concluded that “as a result, these priests and officials will necessarily escape criminal prosecution.”
(It was only because other victims falling within the deadline came forward later that a new grand jury was able to charge Msgr. William Lynn with allowing predators to stay active in the priesthood.)
When the 2005 report was issued, I wrote a three-line column that read: “Know what I hope? I hope all those Catholic priests are right. I hope there is a hell.”
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