August 17,2018
-Source-The American Dossier, John Katz, Editor -
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Source-The American Dossier, John Katz, Editor -
My apologies as for last week I was out of town for family reasons with minimal internet connectivity. We did not publish a weekly update as promised. We will look further in the coming weeks at China and its role in Collusion. We are also experimenting a bit with the homepage at www.theamericandossier.com.
This has been a rather busy couple of weeks in both culture and political news.. As I write this today we mourn the passing of Singer /Civil Rights icon Aretha Franklin and we await the verdict of Paul Manafort.
The most disturbing item this week was the release of the Grand Jury report on sexual abuse by Catholic Clergy and the significance of statute of limitations.
As reported in Time Magazine , “ which the grand jury and state officials say is stopping them from filing criminal charges. The law also means few, if any, of the 1,000 people who say they suffered abuse at the hands of 300 Roman Catholic priests will be able to sue for civil damages.
“We ask the Pennsylvania legislature to stop shielding child sexual predators behind the criminal statute of limitations,” the grand jury said in its report.
In response to the shocking allegations, state Rep. Mark Rozzi, who was abused by a Catholic priest when he was a child, announced plans to introduce a bill that would eliminate the criminal statute of limitations. He also wants to create a two-year opening that would allow accusers to file civil claims against the church.”
The release of all this was rather shocking and personal to me. I am a survivor of sexual abuse, however not by clergy. Just the same I understand the significance of why the statute of limitation laws must change. Especially as a male victim of a female perpetrator I to live the scars of shame and taboo of this hideous reality.
As the law stands the statute of limitations law varies from state to state. In Pennsylvania, one is allowed to come forward with criminal allegations until they are 50 years old. Victims can file civil claims until they are age 30.
The reality in my case it took me until 33 to acknowledge what happened was not my fault and as I approach 48 I still grasp the reality that journey of healing will be a lifetime and the trauma of PTSD does not go away.
For the purpose of this article format, I have only summarized the horror. I am not sure if I will ever be at a point of pursuing worldly justice.
I can certainly say that pressing charges at any age or stage of healing should always be an option. The truth is that there is no amount of earthly justice that can replace what was stolen….however there should be no statute of limitations.
Perhaps best said by Jesus himself on anyone who harms a child….Luke 17:2 –“It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”
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