By John P. Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
October 7, 2011
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/131326499.html
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| Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. |
Prosecution medical experts can examine Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua to see if he's competent to testify about his knowledge and handling of clergy sex abuse allegations during his tenure as leader of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, a judge ruled today.
The battle over the 88-year-old cardinal's testimony has emerged as a subplot in the looming trial of three priests, a defrocked priest and a former Catholic schoolteacher on charges related to the alleged rapes of a 10-year-old altar boy and a 14-year-old boy in the 1990s.
Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina this morning said medical experts for the prosecution can examine Bevilacqua to see if he is competent to testify.
Prosecutors have charged Msgr. William J. Lynn, the archdiocese's former secretary for clergy, with endangering children for allegedly failing to remove sexually abusive priests or recommending them for posts that gave them access to minors. They want to call Bevilacqua, who was Lynn's boss, to bolster their claim that the practice was part of a broader culture or directive among church leaders.
They also have asked the judge to allow them to question the cardinal in a videotaped deposition now - at least six months before the scheduled trial - because of concerns about his deteriorating health.
Bevilacqua retired in 2003, after 15 years as the leader of Philadelphia's Roman Catholic community. He continues to live at his residence at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary off City Avenue but has largely avoided public appearances in recent years.
The cardinal's lawyer, Brian J. McMonagle, has argued that the prelate is unfit to testify at all, as Bevilacqua's longtime personal attorney, William Sasso, also did earlier this year before the grand jury investigating the abuse allegations. Both lawyers say the cardinal suffers from dementia and has been treated for a variety of ailments, including cancer.
McMonagle contends the prosecutors' request to have Bevilacqua testify is a veiled attempt to force the reclusive cardinal to appear in open court and "walk the gauntlet" under a media spotlight. He submitted two years' worth of medical records and has asked the judge to declare Bevilacqua incompetent.
Bevilacqua has testified before. He spent days on the witness stand in 2003 and 2004 before the previous grand jury. No charges emerged from that investigation, although in its report the panel concluded that Bevilacqua had "excused and enabled" the abuse of children.
Lynn's job included recommending to the cardinal where diocesan priests should be assigned. In the present case, Lynn isn't accused of directly assaulting children, but is the first church official nationwide to be criminally charged with taking steps that enabled or covered up such abuse.
Prosecutors say he allowed one of his codefendants, the former Rev. Edward Avery, to live in a Northeast Philadelphia parish with a school after Avery had been removed from another parish and sent for treatment because of an abuse allegation.
Avery, who was defrocked in 2006, and two codefendants, the Rev. Charles Engelhardt and former schoolteacher Bernard Shero, are charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in at St. Jerome's parish in the late 1990s. The other defendant, the Rev. James Brennan, is accused of molesting a 14-year-old boy at a Chester County apartment in 1996.
Through their lawyers, each has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
Lynn was suspended from his post as pastor of the St. Joseph's parish in Downingtown in the wake of the charges.
Contact staff writer John P. Martin at 215-854-4774 or at jmartin@phillynews.com.
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