When Pennsylvania overhauled its child sexual abuse laws last week after a years-long battle, absent from the bill-signing ceremony were some of the people who had worked hardest for the changes.

They felt legislators had taken a good first step, but that more needs to be done.

The central bill signed by Gov. Tom Wolf gives future victims of child sex abuse more time to file lawsuits and ends time limits for police to file criminal charges.

Wolf said the new laws will help repair “faults in our justice system that prevent frightened, abused children from seeking justice when they grow into courageous adults.”

Some sexual-abuse survivors and victim advocates felt conflicted by the compromise package. Missing was a cornerstone of the recommendations by last year’s landmark grand jury report on child sexual abuse inside six of Pennsylvania’s eight Roman Catholic dioceses.

That recommendation was for a two-year window in state law to allow now-adult victims of child sexual abuse to sue over claims that are past Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations.

That has left survivors and victim advocates knowing they have little choice but to trust lawmakers to pass a resolution to amend the constitution in the 2021-22 legislative session.

“We had hope up until the end,” said Mary McHale, a Reading resident who told the grand jury of her experience 30 years ago as a 17-year-old in a Catholic high school.

“And we’re not done. We’re not finished, this is just a different route, she said. “But it’s hard when something’s right there and it’s tangible, and you have hope and then it’s gone again.”

Some victims of childhood sexual abuse are questioning whether lawmakers are committed to seeing through a constitutional amendment. They also worry about lawsuits to block it or how it might be fought in a statewide referendum.

“There are a lot of people with the money and interest to see that this thing never comes to light,” said Jennifer Storm, who directs the state’s Office of Victim Advocate.

We urge legislators to pass the amendment to the constitution to add additional protection for those who have been victims of child sexual abuse.