Justice delayed shouldn’t be justice denied for victims of childhood sexual abuse by priests | Editorial

On Monday Gov. Tom Wolf announced that Kathy Boockvar will end her tenure as Pennsylvania’s secretary of state on Feb. 5. For months Pennsylvania Republicans have called on Boockvar to resign, peddling nonsensical allegations about wrongdoing in her handling of the 2020 presidential election. But her resignation has nothing to do with that election at all.

» READ MORE: State agency bungles ballot referendum for child sex victims

It was a “human error,” according to a statement by Gov. Wolf, that led to Boockvar’s resignation. Boockvar took responsibility for the Department of State’s failure to advertise a constitutional amendment proposed to create a two-year window for victims of childhood sexual abuse to bring old claims — a measure that originated following the 2018 grand jury report on Catholic priests. Because of the failure to advertise, the amendment won’t be able to appear on the May primary ballot to be approved by the voters.

The earliest the measure will appear on the ballot is spring 2023, requiring the constitutional amendment — including passing in both chambers of the General Assembly in two consecutive sessions — to start from scratch.

The error drew criticism from all sides of the political spectrum. Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who oversaw the investigative grand jury and advocated for legislation to allow victims to sue, called the failure to advertise “shameful.”

» READ MORE: A Pa. Dept. of State error means some sex-abuse victims will again have to wait for justice

Republicans smelled blood in the water and attacked. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R., Centre) said “at best this was incompetence. At worst, this was malfeasance.” A House Republican spokesperson said “victims who will not have justice, delayed once again by this administration’s incompetency.” The spokesperson added that the people of Pennsylvania “can’t trust this administration to perform the basic processes.”

The Department of State’s error is serious, and Wolf was right to hold his appointee accountable — something we stopped expecting in Philadelphia. But outrage from Republicans, particularly Senate Republicans, at best rings hollow and at worst cynical.

The only reason for the long process of amending the constitution to grant justice for victims of childhood sexual abuse by priests is that Senate Republicans blocked a vote on a bill on a bill to create a two-year window to allow for claims that are too old. Currently, the law bars victims of childhood sexual assault from suing after they turn 30.

The law for a window for civil lawsuits was vigorously opposed by the Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic bishops and the insurance industry. A constitutional amendment, a lengthy process to achieve the same thing, was a compromise.

» READ MORE: There’s another path for survivors of clergy sex abuse to get justice. It faces an uphill climb in the legislature.

If Republicans are so outraged by the delay of justice, they should channel it into a vote on a bill that opens a two-year window for victims to sue. They can do that immediately.

Following the Philly Fighting COVID debacle, Democrats in Philadelphia and Harrisburg have handed ammunition to those who argue that the government can’t function efficiently, or at all. But that is the wrong takeaway. Ironically, it is the decades-long decimation of government capacity that makes the risk of fiascoes like these much more prevalent — with bureaucracies overloaded and the need for contractors to provide basic services. That is not an excuse for the mistake — but Republican lawmakers aren’t excused for their lack of action, either.