Perilous
Times
Philadelphia priest child sex abuse trial to draw plenty of
attention
By From Ross Levitt and Susan Candiotti, CNN
updated 6:40 PM EDT, Sun March 25, 2012
Monsignor William Lynn was responsible for investigating reports
of sexual abuse by priests in Philadelphia.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Monsignor William Lynn has pleaded not guilty to two criminal
counts
Lynn worked in the Philadelphia archdiocese from 1992 to 2004
He was responsible for investigating reports of sexual abuse
by priests
His lawyers say he told his superiors of the allegations
(CNN) -- Opening arguments are scheduled for Monday in
Philadelphia in the first case in which an official of a Roman
Catholic archdiocese has been accused of protecting abusive
priests by moving them from parish to parish.
Monsignor William Lynn has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and
endangering the welfare of a child. Lynn served as the vicar of
clergy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004, a
position in which he was responsible for investigating reports
that priests had sexually abused children.
A grand jury alleged that he knowingly allowed priests accused of
abuse to continue in the ministry in roles in which they had
access to children, according to the district attorney's office.
Lynn "acted as if his job was to protect the abuser, never the
abused," a January 2011 grand jury report concluded.
But Lynn's lawyers argue that the monsignor had informed his
superiors -- including Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died in
January -- that priests in the archdiocese were assaulting
children.
The Lynn case has had reverberations across the country, including
the October 2011 arrest of Bishop Robert W. Finn in Kansas City,
Missouri, on charges that he failed to report suspected child
abuse by a priest. Finn pleaded not guilty.
Lynn's case has already had some surprises in the weeks leading up
to this point. The latest came Thursday, when a co-defendant,
defrocked priest Edward Avery, accepted a plea deal and was
sentenced to 2-1/2 to five years in prison.
The deal does not require Avery to testify against Lynn, leaving
open the question of how it ultimately affects the case.
"This is a very mysterious plea," says CNN legal analyst Paul
Callan. "And it will be interesting to see as the trial rolls on
why this plea was really entered, because there's something going
on that we don't know about at this point in time."
In February, the defense had a bombshell of its own. Lynn's
attorneys presented a document that seems to show that in 1994,
Bevilacqua ordered shredded a document prepared by Lynn that
listed the names of suspected abusers.
In jury selection process, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported
Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina as saying in open
court, "Anybody that doesn't' think there is widespread sexual
abuse within the Catholic Church is living on another planet."
The comment prompted calls for Sarmina to recuse herself. She has
not.
Because of a court-mandated gag order, all parties in the case are
prevented from commenting. But Bill Donohue, president of the
Catholic League, says Sarmina was inappropriate and incorrect.
"We don't have a problem today," Donahue said. "We had it in the
'60s and '70s and in the first part of the 1980s. If [Sarmina]
goes in there with that mindset, I think she should have recused
herself. She's already --as far as I'm concerned -- she's damaged
goods."
Victims' advocates say the Catholic Church still has a problem
with priest abuse.
"We have seen no evidence either that the Catholic Church has
really changed anything," says Barbara Blaine, president of
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "We have seen them
change their public relations and their statements, but we still
haven't seen one bishop to be fired or publicly punished for
enabling or covering up for sexual predator priests."
Blaine hopes this case will give survivors like Rich Green some
justice.
Green, the nephew of deceased Cardinal John O'Connor of New York,
says he was abused by a priest at a Philadelphia high school in
1990. The priest died in 1999, and the statute of limitations has
run out on Green's ability to sue the Philadelphia archdiocese.
Green did receive a settlement from the Archdiocese of Wilmington,
Delaware, where the priest's order is based, and says he plans to
attend Lynn's trial as often as he can.
"We are asking for these people who are responsible for destroying
our lives to be held accountable for what they did to us," Green
said. "We are the ones telling the truth, and I don't understand
why the Catholic Church can't tell the truth."
Finding the truth will be the job of a jury that is likely to hear
testimony from alleged victims; a possible taped deposition from
Bevilacqua; and perhaps from Lynn himself.