BOSTON (MA)
WCVB - ABC 5 [Boston MA]
October 1, 2026
By Karen Anderson
Attorney General Andrea Campbell said the results of her office’s investigation into sex abuse by clergy in three Massachusetts dioceses are reason enough for state lawmakers to pass reforms that would eliminate the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims.
Advocates and survivors have been looking for these reforms for more than a decade, and now, a bill that would make them law is closer to being passed than ever before. They’re being negotiated now in a Legislative conference committee as part of a broader bill on primary care.
“This is the time,” Campbell said.
The bill would eliminate the statute of limitations for civil claims and remove the $20,000 charitable immunity cap for such cases. Campbell also supports a key measure that would make the change fully retroactive, allowing people to sue no matter when the abuse occurred.
“It is our responsibility as leaders who hold the power they do not to pass legislation that would allow for them to truly get justice and accountability,” Campbell said at her press conference.
Richard, a survivor of sexual abuse by notorious pedophile priest John Geoghan, told 5 Investigates in an interview last week that he wanted lawmakers to “do the right thing.”
The effort has been championed for more than a decade by two state lawmakers who are also survivors: Senator Joan Lovely and Representative John Lawn.
“It is personal,” Lovely said.
“We need to do more to protect children, and Massachusetts should be a leader in that,” Lawn said.
Lawn also addressed opposition to the legislation, saying, “This has been going on for a long time, and a lot of powerful institutions have been trying to block it.”
When asked if the Catholic Church and the Archdiocese of Boston opposed the legislation, Lawn said, “They always have. They have been opposing this ever since it’s been filed for decades.”
Lovely expressed urgency, saying, “Here’s our moment. We have to do it now.”
The Archdiocese of Boston declined comment.
“Enough Abuse,” a group that has long advocated for this change said in part:
“The Attorney General has now called on the Legislature to eliminate the civil statute of limitations for these claims, to create a lookback period so survivors whose claims have already expired have a way back into court, and to eliminate the $20,000 charitable immunity cap on child sexual abuse claims. The Lawn amendment answers that call. Lawmakers should pass it without delay, so that every survivor has a path to accountability, and no institution in Massachusetts ever again decides it can simply wait out the children it failed.”