HARRISBURG (PA)
Patriot News
October 17, 2018
By Ivey DeJesus
The Pennsylvania Senate reconvened Wednesday for its last afternoon session of the term amid disparate reports that a bill to reform child sex crime laws would protect the Catholic Church from lawsuits.
Some advocates have urged lawmakers to approve a window to allow clergy sex abuse victims to file civil suits, even if the abuse occurred decades ago. But critics say a new proposal would bar victims from using that window to sue institutions, including the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church figures large in the discussion over the bill. A reincarnation of previous attempts, the bill comes at the heels of a blistering grand jury report that found thousands of children had been sexually molested and raped by Catholic priests across the state.
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