The Roman Catholic priest who sexually abused a 10-year-old boy is in prison — but that’s not enough, his victim said Tuesday.
Josh Kiley, 37, of California, called Tuesday for Pennsylvania to make it easier for victims of abuse to file lawsuits against the Catholic church. His remarks came during a Downtown press conference nearly a year after John T. Sweeney, formerly a priest in the Diocese of Greensburg, was sent to prison for abusing Mr. Kiley.
Sweeney, who turns 77 on Wednesday, last year pleaded guilty to abusing Mr. Kiley in the early 1990s when the priest was working at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Lower Burrell. Sweeney was sentenced to up to five years in prison and is housed at State Correctional Institution Mercer in Findley Township, Mercer County.
Mr. Kiley, who is seeking $20 million from the Diocese of Greensburg but cannot file a lawsuit because of the statute of limitations, said Tuesday that state legislators should either get rid of the civil statute of limitations — which requires lawsuits to be filed before the victim turns 30 — or open up a window for victims of priest abuse to file lawsuits against the church.
“The churches in Pennsylvania know they have a lot of victims, and if the statute of limitations changes, it will cost them a lot of money,” he said, addressing the media through a video call. “Our state legislators need to stop protecting this organization.”
Mr. Kiley’s attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, said he sent letters to the Greensburg diocese in April and in August seeking settlements for both Mr. Kiley and a second, anonymous man who claims he was abused by Sweeney. Mr. Garabedian said he sought about $1 million for the anonymous victim and $20 million for Mr. Kiley as “validation.”
Bishop Edward Malesic did not respond to those letters, Mr. Garabedian said. A spokesman for the diocese said that the diocese responded by offering the opportunity for Mr. Kiley to participate in a survivor’s compensation program, which could have included filing a claim and attending counseling.
Neither Mr. Kiley nor the anonymous man wanted to participate in that program, Mr. Garabedian said.
Jerome Zufelt, a spokesman for the diocese, said the diocese stands by victims of abuse.
“Bishop Malesic has made it clear that priests who have abused children have no place in ministry,” Mr. Zufelt said, adding that the bishop has never turned down a survivor’s request to meet.
Mr. Garabedian said the state’s grand jury report, which exposed more than 300 priests accused of abuse, was just the beginning of the process for victims to seek justice and compensation.
“Victims are not going to go away,” he said. “This is not the end, this is just the beginning. What [Pennsylvania Attorney General] Josh Shapiro did was a good thing — the dam opened up — but now it is time to move forward, to get the statute of limitations amended and to try to get victims to heal.”
Shelly Bradbury: sbradbury@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1999 or on Twitter @ShellyBradbury.
First Published: October 29, 2019, 9:39 p.m.
