Clergy Abuse Lawyer You can hold a Pennsylvania church or diocese accountable for abuse.

Can You Sue a Church or Diocese For Clergy Abuse in Pennsylvania?

Yes. A civil lawsuit is separate from any criminal case. Even where a criminal prosecution is impossible, because too much time has passed or the abuser has died, a civil claim can still hold the abuser and the church, diocese, or religious organization that enabled the abuse accountable, and recover compensation. You do not need a criminal conviction, nor do you need to have told anyone at the time.

Pennsylvania sits at the center of the national reckoning over clergy abuse. A statewide grand-jury investigation documented hundreds of accused clergy across the state’s Catholic dioceses and a decades-long pattern of institutions protecting reputations instead of children. That history matters in a civil case, because the issue is rarely just one person; it is what the institution knew, when it knew it, and what it chose to do. When a diocese or church moves a known abuser quietly from parish to parish, a civil claim is often the only way the full truth comes out.

Who is Legally Responsible for Clergy Abuse?

The individual abuser is responsible for what they did. But in most strong cases, the church, diocese, religious order, or organization itself is also liable, and it usually has the resources to provide meaningful compensation. A Pennsylvania religious institution can be held responsible when it was negligent in ways such as:

• Negligent supervision and retention — keeping clergy or staff in contact with children after complaints, prior incidents, or warning signs.
• Negligent assignment — transferring or reassigning a known or suspected abuser to a new parish, school, or ministry instead of removing them.
• Failure to report — not reporting suspected child abuse to civil authorities as the law requires.
• Cover-up and concealment — hiding complaints, paying for silence, destroying or withholding records, or steering matters away from police.
• Negligent hiring and screening — placing an individual in a position of trust without reasonable vetting.

Identifying every responsible entity, a parish, a diocese, a religious order, an affiliated school, or a camp, is part of what an experienced attorney does. Learn how institutions are held liable →

Types of Clergy and Church Abuse We Handle

Survivors of Abuse PA represents survivors in cases involving sexual abuse by clergy and religious staff across Pennsylvania, including abuse connected to Catholic dioceses and parishes, religious schools, youth ministries, Sunday school, choirs, and church camps, as well as abuse in other faith communities and denominations. Many clients were children at the time and are coming forward years or decades later. If you are unsure whether what happened “counts,” it costs nothing to ask.

How Long Do You Have to File in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania has specific deadlines that have changed in recent years, so the safest step is to confirm yours directly. Pennsylvania law has expanded the time childhood sexual-abuse survivors have to bring a civil claim, and the deadline depends on the survivor’s age, when the abuse happened, and other facts. The rules around clergy and childhood-abuse claims have been the subject of intense, ongoing reform in Harrisburg, so we do not list a single number here.

What matters is this: even abuse from decades ago may still be within the deadline, and waiting can forfeit the right to file. A free, confidential call with Ashley DiLiberto gives you a clear, accurate answer about your specific deadline, at no cost and no obligation. 

What to Do if You Experienced Clergy Abuse

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. To report suspected child abuse in Pennsylvania, contact ChildLine, the state’s child-abuse hotline, at 1-800-932-0313 (available 24/7). For free, confidential support, including for adults coming forward about abuse from long ago, the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-4673. You do not have to go through the church’s own process to protect your rights. When you are ready, a civil attorney can explain your options privately; there is no pressure and no cost to ask.

Compensation in a Clergy Abuse Case

Civil claims can seek compensation for things like counseling and future therapy, medical care, lost income, pain and suffering, and the lasting harm to your life and faith. For many survivors, a civil case is also about accountability, forcing an institution to acknowledge what it did and to change. Survivors of Abuse PA handles these cases on a contingency basis: there is no cost unless we win. Past results never guarantee a future outcome; each case is judged on its own facts.

Clergy Abuse Representation Across Pennsylvania

Coming forward about abuse within a faith community takes courage, and we offer confidential, trauma-informed support to survivors throughout Pennsylvania.

• Philadelphia
• Pittsburgh
• Erie Catholic Diocese