ALLEGHENY COUNTY COURT 8 who claim abuse sue diocese

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Eight people who claim they were sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests sued the Pittsburgh Diocese on Wednesday.
The people, who ranged in age from 8 to 15 when the reported abuse began, filed civil suits in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against the diocese, Bishop Donald Wuerl and Philadelphia's former archbishop, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. The suspected abusers are not named in the suits because the statute of limitations to file such claims against them have expired.
Lawyers representing the victims said the diocese protected and reassigned priests who were involved in abusing children.
Alan Perer, an attorney representing the reported victims, said the new cases brings the number of lawsuits against the diocese regarding priest abuse to 33. All those suits were still pending as of Wednesday, he said.
In a statement released by the diocese, church officials said all of the allegations in the lawsuits against the diocese involve priests removed from the ministry or who have died.
"To [the diocese's] knowledge and under the leadership of Bishop Wuerl, there is no priest serving in ministry today in the diocese against whom there is a substantiated allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor," the diocese stated.
"Today's filing is nothing more than another step in a publicity campaign by these attorneys to gain notoriety for litigation regarding a conspiracy that never existed."