Update: Priest Child Abuse Trial So Far
By Kristen Byrne
Blogger Kristen Byrne is in the courtroom at the Philadelphia Archdiocese priest-abuse trial. Here is a recap of events so far. A landmark priest-abuse trial began last week. Prosecutors say the Philadelphia Archdiocese made efforts to cover-up victim complaints. The Archdiocese has been under scrutiny with a history of sex abuse while victims’ accusations were allegedly filed in the secret archives. Monsignor William Lynn is the first church official in the U.S. to be charged with conspiracy of endangering the welfare of children for allegedly burying allegations of molestation by members in the priesthood, and refusing to remove accused priests from the ministry. In the Philadelphia prosecutor’s opening statement they said Lynn, as the Secretary of Clergy, was “in charge with investigating crimes on children committed by priests … (but) Lynn kept things in the dark.” During Lynn’s 1992 to 2004 reign as Secretary, he oversaw about 800 priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. His attorneys said Lynn composed a list of 37 accused priests, only to have it shredded by the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. According to the defense, Lynn “did his damnedest.” Throughout the week, pastors testified; recounting various encounters they had with accused priests. Rev. Joseph Okonski told the jury about his experience with the Archdiocese and a fellow priest. He said that he lived in the rectory with Rev. Michael Murtha while working at St. Anselm’s Church. While living there, Okonski discovered that Murtha owned pornographic magazines and videotapes. He told the jury that he reported this information to St Anselm’s Church pastor, but no action was taken. He did not inform the Archdiocese of this incident. Okonski visited Murtha’s room a second time and discovered a love letter in his closet. The sexually explicit letter was addressed to a seventh-grade boy, and signed your “secret lover”. Murtha was reported to Monsignor Charles Devlin, vicar for parishes in North Philadelphia. He eventually had a meeting with Lynn, and was sent to St. John Vianney Center for evaluation. After the evaluation, Murtha was transferred to two more parishes with schools. Rev. Michael Dilorio testified that he was uninformed about Murtha’s issues with pornography. He also said the Archdiocese did not alert him to any specific restrictions that Murtha might have had while working at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Levittown. Based on documents extracted from public files and the secret archives of the Archdiocese, Detective James Dougherty told the jury, “In reviewing all these documents we’ve seen, there is little concern with the victims, but concern for the church and its reputation.” Also on trial with Lynn is Rev. James Brennan, whom pleaded not guilty as well. Brennan is charged with attempted rape of a 14-year-old boy in 1996. Early last week Edward Avery, a defrocked priest, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing an altar boy and endangering the welfare of a child. Avery was sentenced to 2 ? to 5 years in prison and ordered to surrender within 10 days. The trial is expected to last months, and is being followed by Catholics across the country.
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