HARRISBURG (PA)
The Associated Press
October 18, 2018
By Marc Levy
Legislation to respond to Pennsylvania’s landmark grand jury report accusing hundreds of Roman Catholic priests of sexually abusing children over decades stalled on the Legislature’s final scheduled voting day of 2018 amid a showdown over a key provision.
The dispute came down to opposition by the Senate’s huge Republican majority to a provision recommended by the grand jury and backed by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Gov. Tom Wolf, the House of Representatives, Senate Democratic leaders and victim advocates.
That provision would give now-adult victims of child sexual abuse a two-year reprieve from time limits in state law that otherwise would bar them from suing perpetrators and institutions that covered it up.
It was one of four recommendations made by the grand jury in its Aug. 14 report.
It passed the House overwhelmingly last month, but Republican senators had said they considered it unconstitutional and warned that cash awards in such lawsuits carried serious consequences for church charities.
The Catholic Church and for-profit insurers also opposed it.
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