‘Just sick over it’: Clergy sexual abuse victims, their advocates lament error that derailed Pa. amendment

PENNSYLVANIA
TribLive.com

February 1, 2021

By Deb Erdley

https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/just-sick-over-it-backers-lament-bureaucratic-bungle-that-sinks-constitutional-amendment-to-open-courts-to-old-clergy-sexual-abuse-cases/

Mark Rozzi was crushed Monday when Gov. Tom Wolf called to tell him an amendment seeking to open a window of opportunity in court for old child sex abuse claims would not make the primary ballot this year because of an advertising oversight.

Rozzi, a state representative from Berks County who has recounted how he was raped by a priest in junior high school, has led the charge to change the law for several years. During that time, he’s become a champion of other survivors who stayed in the shadows for decades.

He thought the measure to create a limited period to allow old claims to be heard in court had gained sufficient traction to change the state law, following the explosive 2018 statewide grand jury report. The grand jury’s investigation detailed allegations of hundreds of incidents of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy across the state, going back decades.

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