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	New Pa. Archbishop: Don't Make Msgr. "a Scapegoat" By Maryclaire Dale Times Leader September 7, 2011 http://www.timesleader.com/news/ap?articleID=7617567 The incoming archbishop of Philadelphia, who inherits an unprecedented priest-abuse case when he takes the helm Thursday, said he doesn't want a church official under indictment to become "a scapegoat" for the archdiocese. Monsignor William Lynn, 60, is the first Roman Catholic church official in the U.S. to face criminal charges for his handling of abuse complaints. Both prosecutors and defense lawyers have argued that Lynn was taking orders from his boss, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. "It's really important to me, and I think to all of us, that he be treated fairly and that he not be a scapegoat," Archbishop Charles J. Chaputs told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "It's important that those that are conducting the trial treat him fairly, and that they don't pore into his life responsibility for things he didn't do." The 88-year-old Bevilacqua, now retired, had been expected in court Monday for a hearing on whether he is able to testify in the case. His lawyers say he is suffering from cancer and dementia, and no longer competent. Prosecutors want to get Bevilacqua's testimony before the March trial. But the hearing was postponed until Oct. 19, and it's not clear if Bevilacqua must attend. Chaput, asked if his predecessors should try to help with Lynn's defense, said that was a question for defense lawyers. "Monsignor Lynn's attorney is the one who makes those decisions, not me. It seems to me he has the right to do what he thinks is important for the monsignor's defense," Chaput said. Chaput takes over the troubled Philadelphia archdiocese of nearly 1.5 million Catholics at a ceremonial Mass on Thursday. City prosecutors excoriated both Bevilacqua and his successor, Cardinal Justin Rigali, for their handling of dozens of sexual-abuse complaints in a pair of grand jury reports in 2005 and again this year. "Monsignor Lynn was carrying out the cardinal's policies exactly as the cardinal directed," prosecutors wrote in the February report, referring to Bevilacqua. "The grand jurors have no doubt that his knowing and deliberate actions during his tenure as archbishop also endangered thousands of children." But they said they could not charge him because many of the allegations were decades old. They instead charged that Lynn, through priest transfers, let "a trio of pedophiles" rape a young altar boy and another priest rape a different boy as he slept. Lynn served as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, mostly under Bevilacqua. He faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy and child endangerment. After the charges were filed, the archdiocese put Lynn, then serving as a pastor in Downingtown, on administrative leave. He lives with a relative. The church continues to pay his legal bills. Lynn's lawyers filed new motions Thursday seeking to lift a gag order in the case and to dismiss the charges or move the trial out of Philadelphia because of pretrial publicity. They complain they cannot respond to what they call an "avalanche" of court filings by prosecutors, including the long-secret grand jury testimony Bevilacqua and Lynn gave years ago in the first investigation. "Although this testimony may never be admissible at trial, it has created a firestorm of publicity, all to the prejudice of these defendants and William Lynn in particular," lawyers Thomas Bergstrom and Jeffrey Lindy wrote in their motion. They have previously asked, unsuccessfully, to have his trial severed from his co-defendants, all accused of raping children. They are the Rev. Charles Engelhardt, 64, the Rev. James Brennan, 48, former priest Edward Avery, 68, former teacher Bernard Shero, 48. Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina had previously ordered Bevilacqua to appear in open court for the competency hearing, although she had lawyers file his medical records under seal. The lawyers are instead due back in court on Oct. 7 for a status hearing. Chaput said he hopes the highly charged case can be tried based on "objective facts." "We don't want anger to drive this," he told the AP.
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