Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Pennsylvania lawmakers may deploy a rare move to allow voters to decide whether clergy abuse victims can sue for the crimes they endured.
The state’s House of Representatives agreed to use an emergency tactic after Pennsylvania’s Department of State botched rules surrounding changes to the state’s constitution that would extend time limits on prosecuting the child sex abuse cases, Spotlight PA reports.
The statute of limitations already ran out when the clergy sex abuse scandal starting making headlines.
Two years ago, a grand jury found hundreds of Pennsylvania priests were abusing thousands of victims and were being protected by top Catholic leaders.
The resulting 900-page report from that grand jury detailed abuse dating back to the 1940s. More than 300 priests were identified in the document, including dozens of highly ranking clergy.
Some of the cases of abuse detailed included a child porn ring ran by some of the priests. At least two priests were accused of getting teenage girls pregnant, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
If you or a loved one was the victim of sex abuse by a Catholic priest or church leader in Pennsylvania, legal help is available. You may qualify to file a Catholic Church sex abuse lawsuit.
A statewide vote was supposed to be held in May to extend the statute of limitations, but election officials failed to notify voters of the proposal, in violation of rules surrounding Pennsylvania constitutional amendments.
Pennsylvania’s election officials are required by law to advertise these proposed changes to voters within certain timeframes, according to Spotlight PA, but did not do so with this ballot measure.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf admitted “human error” was behind a lapse. State Secretary Kathy Bookvar resigned over the mistake this week.
State Representative Mark Rozzi told Spotlight PA Thursday he was able to get key Republicans to commit to the emergency constitutional amendment so the referendum could appear on the ballot, but other conservatives are expressing caution over the move.
While Pennsylvania’s GOP say they support the victims of clergy abuse, they haven’t officially agreed to anything, party spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher told Spotlight PA.
Extending the two-year window in which victims can report being sexually abused by using the emergency amendment procedure was hotly debated on the floor of the Pennsylvania legislature during its last session.
Pennsylvania lawmakers have only invoked the measure a handful of times, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, all in the 1970s.
Critics say back then the emergency measures were put in place over massive flooding and point to a major catastrophe to be happening in order for it to pass.
Some Pennsylvania Republicans and lobbyists from the Catholic church oppose extending the statute of limitations through an emergency amendment.
A vote still needs to be held by the Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives but it remains unclear when that will happen, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
What do you think of this proposed emergency measure? Should Pennsylvania voters be given a chance to vote for it in May? Let us know in the comments below.
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
- Buffalo Diocese Covered Up Clergy Abuse for Years, Lawsuit Alleges
- Teen Asylum Seeker Alleges He Was Sexually Abused at Lincoln Hall After Border Separation
- Erie Diocese Asks Federal Judge to Delay Abuse Suit as Big Decision Looms
- Diocese of Rockville Centre Files for Bankruptcy Amid Avalanche of Sex Abuse Claims
One thought on PA Lawmakers Use ‘Emergency Tactic’ to Get Clergy Abuse Vote Back on May Ballot
Add me.