Pa. Court Nixes Church Sex Abuse Lawsuit

[emad]

Guardian

Tuesday March 15, 2005 3:16 PM


By DAVID B. CARUSO

Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A state appeals court delivered a stinging setback to alleged victims of clergy abuse by ruling that 17 adults who said they were molested by priests as children waited too long to sue.

A three-judge panel of the Superior Court said Monday that even if officials of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia were guilty of ``inexcusable conduct,'' they were protected by Pennsylvania's strict statute of limitations, which generally requires lawsuits in such cases to be filed within two years.

One of the cases dates back to 1957, and the most recent alleges abuse in 1983.

The court rejected the plaintiffs' allegations that the church so successfully covered up its role in protecting abusive priests that no one could have suspected the archdiocese of negligence until a wave of sex abuse scandals brought the issue to the public's attention in 2002.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4866716,00.html

[Trillo]

1. Does Pennsylvania's government prosecute civil cases?

OH, can't bring a lawsuit cause you're too young and naive to even understand that something that happened was inappropriate or illegal? Too bad.