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Politicians enable ‘devils in disguise’

The Catholic Church is in the news once again, and it brings nothing but shame to parishioners across the state and world. The church wonders why folks are fleeing in mass exodus.

Well, your answer lies in the headlines.

I’m not writing this to bash on the Pennsylvania pedophile priests. We can all agree that they deserve every ounce of condemnation. I’m writing to call-out their enablers — certain local legislators of Pennsylvania’s General Assembly. House Bill 1947, proposed in April 2016, would have eliminated the time limit for criminal abuse charges and extended by 20 years the opening for civil suits.

However, it was quickly gutted by the State Senate and failed to pass.

State Representatives Judy Ward and John McGinnis voted no to House Bill 1947, with Senator John Eichelberger denouncing it as well, even after their own constituents were revealed to be the first victims of abuse and cover-ups spanning decades.

These three legislators, all self-proclaimed conservative Christians, were elected to look out for the people. Instead, they decided to cast their votes for the church over the survivors.

The reason? These “public servants” are beholden to special interests such as the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania — two money hungry organizations who have much stake in the game of sexual abuse cover-ups. Instead of delivering justice to the monsters of these horrific crimes, these three politicians locked up the voices of victims and threw away the key.

I would like to believe that these representatives of ours do not truly represent the will of the people in Central Pennsylvania regarding this case.

There are two things left for us to do: pray for the victims and vote for courageous leaders who will put an end to statute of limitations for sexual abusers. It is time to empower and uplift the victims of these heinous crimes; not protect the devils in disguise.

Jay Reeves

Altoona

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