By Nancy Phillips and Craig R. McCoy
Philadelphia Inquirer
July 30, 2011
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/126437708.html
[For the full testimony of Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, go to: www.philly.com/testimony]
[BishopAccountability.org: Cardinal Bevilacqua's Testimony in Searchable PDFs]
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| Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua's testimony to a grand jury on sex abuse has been sealed. |
The Inquirer on Friday posted on the website Philly.com the full testimony of Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua before a grand jury investigating sexual abuse in the local Catholic church.
The cardinal's testimony is contained there in separate documents for his appearances before the panel in 2003 and 2004. The testimony was referred to in the grand jury's 2005 report.
Last week, prosecutors made Bevilacqua's testimony part of the public court file in the criminal case against Msgr. William J. Lynn, a top administrator who handled archdiocesean abuse cases for the cardinal. Lynn is charged with conspiracy and child endangerment for allegedly enabling abusive priests. He has pleaded not guilty.
In their case against Lynn, prosecutors - in a rare move - filed grand-jury testimony, including that of Bevilacqua, in Common Pleas Court on July 22.
The Inquirer made copies of the cardinal's testimony before the courthouse closed that day. The newspaper published a story about the testimony Sunday.
On Monday, the judge in the case, Lillian Harris Ransom, ordered the grand jury transcripts sealed.
The Inquirer's copy of the testimony thus is the only one in the public domain. The Inquirer checked the transcripts to remove any names of victims before posting the documents.
On Friday, Lynn's lawyers sought to prevent The Inquirer from posting the testimony.
The lawyers, Thomas A. Bergstrom and Jeffrey M. Lindy, said Bevilacqua's testimony would not be admissible at trial because the cardinal, now 88 and suffering from cancer and dementia, could not be cross-examined about it. In a letter to the judge, they argued that making the testimony public was "prejudicial to [Lynn's] right to a fair trial by an impartial jury."
Amy B. Ginensky, a lawyer for The Inquirer, countered that Lynn's request amounted to "unconstitutional prior restraint." In a letter to the judge, she noted that courts have routinely held that the public has a right of access to court records.
Grand jury transcripts are rarely made public.
Jeff Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., a lawyer who has handled scores of sex-abuse cases brought against the Catholic Church, called the prosecutors' release of the cardinal's testimony "extraordinary and unprecedented."
Advocates for victims criticized the judge's decision to bar access to the court records.
Terence McKiernan, president of bishopaccountability.org, which tracks clergy abuse across the globe, called the judge's decision "a grave error."
He said the documents were "essential evidence" in the criminal case against Lynn, the first member of the Catholic hierarchy in the nation to be charged with child endangerment.
Moreover, he said, the documents "are of deep and immediate public interest, not only for the United States, but for Ireland, Belgium, Germany, and everywhere that a conspiracy of the Catholic hierarchy is suspected.
"This is a watershed moment in the Catholic sexual-abuse crisis," said McKiernan. "The release of the Philadelphia files is potentially even more significant than the massive release of church files in Boston in 2002-03."
Ransom has declined to explain her decision to seal the record.
In her order, Ransom also barred public access to other grand-jury testimony filed by prosecutors, including that of two bishops, Lynn, and two codefendants.
The order is in effect until a hearing can be held on an Inquirer challenge of the decree. No date has been set.
For the full testimony of Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, go to: www.philly.com/testimony
Contact staff writer Nancy Phillips at 215-854-2254, nphillips@phillynews.com or @PhillipsNancy on Twitter.
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