Clerical kidnappings, elections, and COVID dominate Catholic news in Americas
- Apr 13, 2021
The Pennsylvania House approved a bill Wednesday to establish a two-year window for civil claims over childhood sexual abuse, part of a belt-and-suspenders approach that also includes a potential constitutional amendment.
The state House of Representatives showed solid support Tuesday for enacting a two-year lawsuit window for child victims of sexual abuse as a regular bill, two weeks after the Legislature gave its first round of approval to a similar constitutional amendment.
Pennsylvania lawmakers on Wednesday finished a new first round of approvals for a constitutional amendment giving victims of child sexual abuse the power to file what would otherwise be outdated claims, but it will be 2023 at the earliest before it takes effect.
Pennsylvania lawmakers restarted the multi-year clock Tuesday on amending the state constitution to allow now-adult victims of child sexual abuse to sue their perpetrators or institutions that may have covered it up.
Majority Republicans in the state Senate said Monday they will not employ a rarely used emergency process to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to give victims of child sexual abuse a two-year window in which to file civil lawsuits, possibly delaying a final vote on the window until 2023.
Pennsylvania lawmakers on Monday launched a rarely used emergency process to amend the state constitution, advancing a proposal that would give victims of child sexual abuse a 2-year window to file otherwise outdated civil lawsuits.
A bid to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to give victims of child sexual abuse a new legal window to sue over otherwise time-barred allegations got new life Thursday, days after the disclosure of a paperwork error threw it into disarray.
Some victims of child sexual abuse might have to wait two years or more to pursue legal claims because of a major bureaucratic bungle that prompted angry denunciations across the political spectrum Monday and the resignation of Pennsylvania’s top state elections official.