A Monsignor Goes on Trial

New York Times
April 1, 2012

www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/opinion/a-monsignor-goes-on-trial.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1333364452-F95wT2heh0lAYv3m5y9XKQ

A long overdue step of accountability in the sex abuse of children by wayward Catholic priests — the first-ever trial of a diocesan supervisor for allegedly covering up the scandal — has opened in Philadelphia. The issue of hierarchal responsibility is finally front and center.

Msgr. William Lynn, the supervisor of Philadelphia priests for 12 years, is defending himself from criminal conspiracy charges by alleging that culpability for the scandal extended to the head of the archdiocese — via a secret archive he compiled on predator priests that he said was ordered shredded in 1994 by Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

Whether the jury believes Monsignor Lynn's contention that he innocently did his duty by compiling the archive and handing it on to his superiors is an open question. But its value in shedding light on backroom maneuvering is already clear. A copy was found in a diocesan safe six years ago and turned over to authorities this year as criminal investigators looked into years of alleged rapes and other abuses of schoolchildren. Cardinal Bevilacqua was expected to testify but died earlier this year.

The trial is recapitulating painful aspects of the nationwide scandal in which more than 700 priests had to be dismissed in a three-year period while the church's upper echelons faced no criminal charges. The trial unfolds eight years after a review panel of laity appointed by the nation's bishops urgently warned that to repair the church's reputation "there must be consequences" for ranking church officials who engineered cover-ups.

In the courtroom, a series of priests have testified for the prosecution in obvious discomfort, telling of rogue colleagues merely being moved among parishes by the diocese to avoid public scandal. One told of how the diocese tried to treat pedophile priests like alcoholics with "Sexaholics Anonymous" programs.

Cardinal Justin Rigali has suspended two dozen priests since a grand jury severely criticized him and reported that dozens of credibly accused priests still remained in ministry despite a proclaimed "zero tolerance" policy. Cardinal Rigali has insisted the diocese was aggressive in rooting out bad priests.

Catholic parishioners deserve the fullest possible accounting of the scandalous abuse of their children. The trial of Monsignor Lynn is a step in the right direction.