Clergy Abuse Victims Seeking Justice Find Hope In New Court Decision

PITTSBURGH (PA)
WESA-FM (90.5 – NPR affiliate)

September 2, 2019

By Laura Benshoff, WHYY

A recent Pennsylvania court ruling is breathing new life into old claims of childhood sexual assault in spite of state law that puts time limits on legal action.

In June, a state appeals court cleared the way for lawsuits when new information about abuse cover-ups emerge, often decades after the alleged crimes themselves. That decision prompted at least five subsequent lawsuits against the Catholic Church, and one against the Boy Scouts of America, alleging fraud and conspiracy by those institutions.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Scranton called it an attempt to get around the lawmaking process. Legislators in Pennsylvania have not voted to allow victims a temporary reprieve from the statute of limitations, unlike their counterparts in New York and New Jersey.

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