{"id":43589,"date":"2012-06-02T00:13:28","date_gmt":"2012-06-02T00:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=43589"},"modified":"2012-06-03T15:52:59","modified_gmt":"2012-06-03T15:52:59","slug":"usa-child-abuse-case-a-roman-catholic-church-official-had-shielded-predatory-priests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/usa-child-abuse-case-a-roman-catholic-church-official-had-shielded-predatory-priests\/","title":{"rendered":"USA Child Abuse Case: A Roman Catholic Church Official Had Shielded Predatory Priests"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Erick Eckholm –<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cases Close for Philadelphia Diocese Official<\/h1>\n

New York Times \/PHILADELPHIA \u2014 In an emotional summary after more than two months of testimony, the prosecution in a landmark sexual-abuse trial said here on Thursday that overwhelming evidence showed that a\u00a0Roman Catholic Church<\/a>\u00a0official had shielded predatory priests, lied to parishioners and victims, and exposed innocent children to abuse.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Monsignor William Lynn leaves the Criminal Justice Center\/ Photo AP<\/p><\/div>\n

But a defense lawyer for the official, Msgr. William J. Lynn, told the jury that Monsignor Lynn had done all he could to protect children within his limited powers and that he deserved praise rather than condemnation.<\/p>\n

Monsignor Lynn, 61, as secretary of the clergy for the Philadelphia Archdiocese from 1992 to 2004, was responsible for priests\u2019 assignments and for investigating abuse allegations. He is on trial for endangering minors and conspiracy to keep an accused priest in active ministry, charges that could carry a sentence of 10 \u00bd to 21 years.<\/p>\n

He is the first Catholic Church official in the country to face criminal charges not for committing abuses himself, but for enabling abuses by playing down credible accusations and reassigning suspect priests to new parishes.<\/p>\n

The two sides both made their closing arguments on Thursday before Judge M. Teresa Sarmina of Common Pleas Court. The judge is expected to explain the charges to the jury on Friday morning, and then deliberations will begin.<\/p>\n

Urging the jury not to rush to judgment, Thomas Bergstrom, a defense lawyer, recalled the play and movie \u201cTwelve Angry Men,\u201d in which a lone holdout juror\u2019s doubts lead eventually to an acquittal.<\/p>\n

A central issue, Mr. Bergstrom stressed, was Monsignor Lynn\u2019s limited authority in what he called a middle-management job.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t have the power and authority to remove these people from the priesthood,\u201d Mr. Bergstrom said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t because he couldn\u2019t,\u201d he said, his voice dropping to a whisper that the jury leaned forward to hear.<\/p>\n

In testimony last week, Monsignor Lynn said that the cardinal at the time, Anthony J. Bevilacqua, who died in January, had to approve decisions to transfer priests or remove them from ministry. He said he had tried his best to curb sexual abuse in the archdiocese.<\/p>\n

Mr. Bergstrom argued Thursday that Monsignor Lynn deserved praise for being the first official to seriously investigate the extent of sexual abuse in the archdiocese \u2014 a man \u201cwho never touched a child, but documented the evil that other men did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe put a spotlight on their shame,\u201d Mr. Bergstrom said.<\/p>\n

But the prosecutor, Patrick Blessington, an assistant district attorney, ridiculed the defense arguments, noting that Monsignor Lynn\u2019s efforts to identify and investigate abusers were largely kept secret from the public.<\/p>\n

Mr. Blessington said that to be found guilty, Monsignor Lynn had to have only participated in the cover-up of abuses, and not necessarily have directed it.<\/p>\n

He also cited reams of documents and the handling of some 20 known abuse cases that he said showed that Monsignor Lynn played an active role in deflecting investigations, keeping abuse allegations secret and reassigning accused priests to other parishes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was willing to carry out the program,\u201d he said, referring to what prosecutors called an effort by the archdiocese lasting decades to avoid scandal at any cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was willing to keep the secrets,\u201d Mr. Blessington added, jabbing his finger at Monsignor Lynn, who stared sullenly at him through his two-hour summation. Never once, he said, did Monsignor Lynn discuss contacting the police after hearing lurid and credible allegations of child molesting.<\/p>\n

On trial alongside Monsignor Lynn is one of the priests he is accused of aiding, the Rev. James J. Brennan. Father Brennan, who has been removed from pastoral duties, is accused of the attempted rape of a boy in 1996, after years of what prosecutors called \u201cred flags\u201d about his behavior that Monsignor Lynn, they said, should have acted on.<\/p>\n

Just as the defense lawyer evoked \u201cTwelve Angry Men,\u201d the prosecutor finished up with a searing allusion of his own. Paraphrasing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. Blessington said that the ultimate tragedy is \u201cthe silence of good people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease don\u2019t be silent,\u201d he implored the panel of Philadelphia citizens.<\/p>\n

To read Pahalagama Sri Somaratana and religious child abuse\u00a0\u00a0Stories click\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":43605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2201,1],"tags":[2637,1178,2636],"class_list":["post-43589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-from-foreign-media","category-news","tag-catholic-church-child-abuse","tag-pahalagama-somaratana","tag-philadelphia-child-abuse-case"],"yoast_head":"\nUSA Child Abuse Case: A Roman Catholic Church Official Had Shielded Predatory Priests - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/usa-child-abuse-case-a-roman-catholic-church-official-had-shielded-predatory-priests\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"USA Child Abuse Case: A Roman Catholic Church Official Had Shielded Predatory Priests - 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