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Bill on church sex abuse stalls on question of lawsuits

Published  October 17, 2018 6:58am EDT
U.S.
FOX 29 Philadelphia

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Legislation responding to a Pennsylvania grand jury report accusing hundreds of Roman Catholic priests of sexually abusing children over decades remains under wraps amid disagreement over a key provision.

Republican state senators met privately for several hours Tuesday before emerging and saying GOP majority leaders made an offer in an attempt to secure an agreement with House members and Gov. Tom Wolf.

MORE: Pennsylvania priests molested over 1,000 children, per report | Key dates in the Pennsylvania church abuse scandal

The grand jury report recommended giving now-adult victims of child sexual abuse a two-year reprieve from time limits in state law that otherwise bar them from suing perpetrators and institutions that covered it up.

Wolf supports the window, and the House of Representatives approved it last month. The Senate's top Republican, President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, has opposed it, and instead backed a church-created fund to compensate victims.

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