Court to rule on clergy abuse suits
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania --
A Pennsylvania appeals court will hear arguments today in a case that could determine whether dozens of lawsuits can move forward against the Catholic Church in sexual abuse cases.
Superior Court is being asked to decide whether the statute of limitations expired in a series of clergy sexual abuse cases dismissed by a Philadelphia judge. A ruling by the three-judge panel, which includes Judge Jack Panella of Northampton County, could affect clergy sexual abuse cases across the state.
The appeals court is being asked to decide whether the two-year statute of limitations bars victims from suing the church and top church officials for abuses that occurred years ago.
The issue isn't whether the alleged child molesters, including priests and Catholic school employees, can be sued. The victims have conceded that the perpetrators can't be sued because the abuses happened too long ago.
Rather, the appeals court is supposed to decide whether the Catholic Church and top church officials can be sued for allegedly fraudulently concealing abuses and allowing them to continue. The Philadelphia cases name as defendants the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and its former archbishop, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.
Read the article at mcall.com dated February 16, 2005
Search the web for this article
A Pennsylvania appeals court will hear arguments today in a case that could determine whether dozens of lawsuits can move forward against the Catholic Church in sexual abuse cases.
Superior Court is being asked to decide whether the statute of limitations expired in a series of clergy sexual abuse cases dismissed by a Philadelphia judge. A ruling by the three-judge panel, which includes Judge Jack Panella of Northampton County, could affect clergy sexual abuse cases across the state.
The appeals court is being asked to decide whether the two-year statute of limitations bars victims from suing the church and top church officials for abuses that occurred years ago.
The issue isn't whether the alleged child molesters, including priests and Catholic school employees, can be sued. The victims have conceded that the perpetrators can't be sued because the abuses happened too long ago.
Rather, the appeals court is supposed to decide whether the Catholic Church and top church officials can be sued for allegedly fraudulently concealing abuses and allowing them to continue. The Philadelphia cases name as defendants the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and its former archbishop, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.
Read the article at mcall.com dated February 16, 2005
posted by God Almighty Himself at 3:41 PM
Translate this post:
Spanish | Italian | French | German | Portuguese | Chinese | Korean | Japanese
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home