HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro issued a statement today following the votes in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives approving reforms recommended by a statewide Grand Jury that investigated child sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy. 

With today’s votes, the PA House of Representatives has now passed all four of the reforms recommended last August by a Grand Jury investigating child sexual abuse and cover up in the Catholic church.

While the path of a constitutional amendment adds unnecessary delay for victims, this is a clear step forward. The Pennsylvania Grand Jury’s report documented decades of child sexual abuse, identifying 301 predator priests and thousands of victims. Our work sparked a reckoning across the country, with at least 16 states and the U.S. Department of Justice opening clergy sex abuse investigations.

Just as our Commonwealth was a leader in investigating and prosecuting clergy sexual abuse, it is imperative that Pennsylvania also now be a leader in enacting reforms to protect victims and ensure this kind of abuse and cover-up can never happen again. I stand with survivors as we urge the Pennsylvania Senate to swiftly pass the Grand Jury reforms.”

 -Attorney General Josh Shapiro