Bucks Residents React to Clergy Sex Abuse Verdicts
By Christian Menno
Bucks residents had plenty to say Friday following the landmark conviction of a Roman Catholic Church official charged with child endangerment and the hung-jury outcome of another priest with local ties accused of sexually abusing a minor. A Philadelphia jury agreed with prosecutors that Monsignor William Lynn, 61, helped keep predators in the priesthood by moving them to different parishes under the guise that the transfers were health-related. Lynn, 61, could face three-and-a-half to seven years in prison. He faced two counts of child endangerment charges and one count of conspiracy. Only one child endangerment charge was upheld by the jury Friday. “Priests should be people you can trust,” said Dorothea Christian, 61, of Newtown Township on Friday. “To hear about these kinds of things is horrifying.” Having served as secretary for the clergy from 1992 to 2004, Lynn has been on leave from the church since his 2011 arrest. Lynn is the first U.S. church official to be convicted of a crime for how he handled sex abuse allegations. The jury was unable to come to a decision for Lynn’s co-defendant the Rev. James Brennan, 47, of Linfield, who had served previously at St. Andrew Parish in Newtown Township from 1989 to 1991, and later assigned to Assumption Blessed Virgin Mary in Lower Southampton in 1999. Brennan was accused of sexually assaulting a boy in 1996 that he met years earlier during his time at St. Andrew’s. It is unclear if prosecutors will pursue a second trial for Brennan. “I think it’s great that they finally convicted someone for this,” said Nick Stewart, 35, of Newtown Township. “(Abuse) seems to go on way too much. The fact that it happened here shows that it can happen anywhere.” Added Christian: “You never think it’s going to happen to you or where you live, until it's right at your doorstep.” She said, though, that she keeps the abuse issue separate from her Catholic faith. “Priests are humans and this will not affect my faith,” she added. Kathleen Pasko, a Catholic from Upper Makefield, said that the Church should have protected the innocent and reported the allegations to police instead of moving the priests to different parishes. “I’m glad to see that they are being held accountable now,” she added. “My faith is about holding men accountable for their actions. The concern should be for the children.” Pasko said she will trust the prosecutors to decide whether or not Brennan should be tried again for his alleged crimes. “I don’t know the ins and outs of the case, so it’s tough for me to make that call.” According to Doylestown resident Anthony Le Storti, a Catholic, Lynn’s conviction was fair. “It may even be light,” he added. “I thought the conspiracy charges would be tricky (to prove). I’m glad for the one guilty verdict and I do think there should be a retrial for Brennan. “This doesn’t affect my faith in terms of a relationship with God or spirituality, but it surely affects my relationship with the Catholic Church for not addressing some of these serious problems.” In a statement released after the verdicts were announced, Archdiocese of Philadelphia officials said it was “a difficult time for all Catholics” and apologized to the victims of clergy sexual abuse. “The lessons of the last year have made our Church a more vigilant guardian of our people’s safety,” the statement read. “The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is on a journey of reform and renewal that requires honesty and hope. We are committed to providing support and assistance to parishioners as they and the Church seek to more deeply understand sexual violence, and to create an environment that is safe and welcoming to all, including past victims.” Karen D’Aprile of Newtown Township said that men of the cloth should strive “to have people look up at them, not down at them.” “I was surprised that any convictions came down, actually,” added D’Aprile, who is Jewish. “But it’s good to see them making these men responsible. I’m sure this kind of thing happens in all faiths and I think everyone will be watching more closely now. But this has nothing to do with religion. It’s about people in general.” Upper Makefield attorney Marci Hamilton is a leading scholar regarding church/state issues and is an advocate of sex abuse victims. She called the guilty verdict against Lynn “historic and important” and expects Brennan to be retried. “This is a message for all organizations to protect their children, rather than endanger them,” she added. “We should all be grateful to the survivors who had the courage to come forward and make this prosecution possible.” Barbara Dorris, outreach director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said the Lynn verdict will provide “vindication and healing” to all clergy sex abuse victims and was long overdue. A possible prevention measure for sexual abuse by priests is to let them marry, said Fran Fondas, 69, of Lower Southampton. “A lot of these men probably had issues for a long time and people that say they didn’t know, really did,” added Fondas, who is Greek Orthodox. “I’m sure that people knew and somebody finally said ‘enough is enough.’” Jane Campbell, 57, of Lower Southampton said that the current laws regarding pedophiles are simply too lenient. “I’d definitely like to see Brennan retired,” she added. “This whole thing is disgusting.” Christian Menno: 215-269-5081; email: cmenno@phillyBurbs.com Twitter: Twitter.com/cmenno_courier
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