(Image source from: Reading Eagle)

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro lauded Pope Francis global letter condemning sexual abuse by priests and past cover-ups by church leaders, saying he hoped it would lead Pennsylvania's bishops to assist changes to state time limitations that bar older victims from seeking justice.

Calling the pope "a fighter for the defenseless," Shapiro said on Monday that the letter, sent Sunday to Catholic churches around the world, should be a catalyst for bishops to support the elimination of the criminal and civil statute of limitations.

A Pennsylvania grand jury suggested the changes in a scathing report earlier this week on sexual abuse by priests and seminarians in six state dioceses, including the Allentown Diocese, over seven decades.

"It is my hope that, following the Holy Father's words and teachings, church leaders in Pennsylvania will cease their denials and deflections and now fully support the grand jury's recommendations so that survivors have the opportunity to obtain justice and ensure this type of widespread abuse and cover-up never happens again," Shapiro said in a written statement emailed Monday.

Over 300 priests were named in the 40th Statewide Grand Jury's report on sexual abuse in the dioceses, the result of a two-year investigation into the Catholic Church's handling of child abuse by clergy.

According to the grand jury's report, the state criminal statute of limitations, currently, lets victims come forward until age 50. Civilly, the law gives victims 12 years to sue once they turn 18.

The pope acknowledged in his letter that church leaders "were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives."

Now, he said, "No effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated," though he did not offer specific initiatives.

Shapiro called the pope's letter powerful, saying it "acknowledges the painful truth that had been hiding in the shadows in churches throughout Pennsylvania and appropriately focuses on the survivors who have suffered for too long."

A spokesman for House Majority Leader David Reed, an Indiana County Republican said the Senate passed a bill in 2017 that eliminates the criminal statute of limitations but prevents victims over the age of 50 from filing civil lawsuits. It's headed for a vote in the House in September, though it could be amended.

Representative Mark Rozzi, a Muhlenberg Township Democrat, has sponsored a House version that would give older victims a two-year window to file civil lawsuits.

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, the Harrisburg-based public affairs arm of the state's bishops, said in a statement last week that the dioceses are focused on "improving ways that survivors and their families can recover as they continue through a difficult healing process."

"The time to discuss legislation will come later," the conference said in its statement.

By Sowmya Sangam