Summer recess for our legislators (and us) is over! The PA House will be back in session this coming week, which means they will be considering HB 1947 yet once again. The history of this bill is a little complicated, but hang in with me so I can catch you up. It was passed overwhelmingly by the House 4/2016 after […]
| 9/15/2016 | Kaylee Tornay billypenn.com | On Monday, the Pennsylvania House will return to session, and arguments will pick up again over one controversial bill that could drastically alter the way sexual abuse is handled in Pennsylvania courts ― that is, if one of its supporters doesn’t intentionally kill it for lacking comprehension. HB 1947, introduced by Rep. Ronald […]
| 9/14/16 | Dave Sutor | Tribune-Democrat – Johnstown, PA | Shaun Dougherty’s father died nearly two years ago. The funeral took place at St. Clement Church on Lindberg Avenue, where the large Catholic family gathered to grieve the loss of a loved one. But Dougherty’s mind was also wracked by another emotional trauma. He claims that decades ago, when he […]
| 8/9/2016 |Brandie Kessler | York Daily Record The Diocese of Harrisburg has acknowledged by name 15 priests who have been accused of sexually abusing children and who at one time worked in the diocese — including one who served in Dallastown in 1989-90. The Rev. Raymond Prybis was accused of abuse during his time at a Boston-area parish […]
| 8/2/16 | NBC 10 News | A former Philadelphia church official who made history when he faced charges of helping to shield pedophile priests is now free after a court overturned his conviction. Monsignor William Lynn had already posted 10 percent of his $250,000 bail at about 11 a.m., less than an hour after a Philadelphia judge ruled that […]
| 7/31/2016 | Editorial: Perkasie News Herald | The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is learning that while a key aspect of House Bill 1947 might be going away, its biggest booster is not. State Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-126th Dist., of Berks County, the man who authored the controversial language in the bill that would have retroactively extended the window for victims of […]
| 7/26/16 | Ivey DeJesus | PennLive | A former employee of a high school in the Altoona‑Johnstown Diocese has been criminally charged with sexually assaulting a student. The Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday released the criminal complaint against John Bowman Thornberry, 28, a former employee of Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Ebensburg, Cambria County. Thornberry is accused of […]
| 7/21/16 Host -Marty Radovanic | WJAC TV Altoona/Johnstown | WJAC-TV examined the aftermath of the church abuse Thursday night in the local area during a special round-table discussion.
| 7/18/16 | Kathleen E. Carey, Delaware County Daily Times Standing in front of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul Monday, state Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-126 of Berks County, threw a pile of grand jury reports on the steps, vowing the fight for a tough law against sex abuse is not over. “One of my main messages today was […]
| 7/20/16 | DelcoTimes The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is learning that while a key aspect of House Bill 1947 might be going away, its biggest booster is not. State Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-126, of Berks County, the man who authored the controversial language in the bill that would have retroactively extended the window for victims of child sexual abuse that […]
| 6/19/16 | Maria Panaritis | Philadelphia Inquirer Stoking a legislative fight over the civil statute of limitations, the Berks County Democrat pledged to rewrite a pending House bill to include a two-year window in which any adult of any age could sue private institutions and individuals for abuse that occurred when they were children. “For over 50 years, this […]
“And, so this is what happened…” is often how the stories begin. Each story is unique, but at core, all the same. Someone or someone(s) caused great harm to children and the long term effects for many of those children bear the “fruits” of chronic, deadly medical diseases, such as hypertension, cardiac disease and cancer as well as depression and […]
7/15/16 | Maria Panaritis | Philadelphia Inquirer A onetime “altar boy of the year” who was raped by one of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s most notorious abuser priests said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput this week canceled a face-to-face meeting with him because he told the media about it. John Delaney, raped by the Rev. James J. Brzyski when Delaney was […]
6/8/16 | Ivey DeJesus | PennLive \ ‘We have them…..today’ Shaun Dougherty’s story begins on page 66 of the grand jury report into widespread child sexual abuse in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese. That page – one of 147 pages in the report detailing accusations against more than 50 religious leaders, priests and teachers – begins the account into the investigation of […]
The attorney for Brian Gergely, who went public about his sexual abuse in 2003, said Mr Gergely’s demons “finally won out.” 7/56/16 | Peter Smith | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette For more than a decade, Brian Gergely spoke out to seek justice, and offer hope, to his fellow survivors of sexual abuse by priests and other trusted adults. He once described his […]