During the most formative years of her childhood, Trish Cahill said she was abused by two Roman Catholic leaders who were supposed to protect her first by her uncle, a priest; then by a teacher, a nun.

Decades later, thanks to dramatic reforms to New Jerseys statute of limitations for child sex abuse, Cahill has finally gotten a chance to file a lawsuit seeking to hold the church accountable in one of these cases.

Cahill filed a lawsuit in New Jerseys Superior Court last Tuesday against the Diocese of Camden, claiming it acted negligently by failing to protect her from alleged abuse by one of its priests, the Rev. Daniel F.M. Millard, her uncle.

Cahill, one of two survivors of nun abuse whom HuffPost profiled last year , said Tuesdays filing felt like a monumental event in her life, one that had been a long time coming.

Im feeling good. Im feeling empowered, the 67-year-old said Friday. But Im feeling sad that it had to get to this at all.