PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Calgary Herald
Agence France-Presse March 27, 2012
A Catholic priest tasked with assigning priests jobs protected the dark “secrets” of his child-abusing subordinates, a U.S. prosecutor said Monday at the start of a landmark trial.
The trial of Monsignor William Lynn, the most senior church official in the United States to be charged with covering up priests’ sexual abuse of children, began under heavy media scrutiny in Philadelphia.
Prosecutors are targeting Lynn, who they claim shuffled two priests suspected of child abuse to other positions, enabling the crimes to continue.
Assistant district attorney Jacqueline Coelho described Lynn as the “keeper of the secrets,” tasked with protecting the church from scandal and keeping parishioners in the dark. “The protection of children was the furthest thing from defendant Lynn’s mind,” said Coelho, who promised the jury a painstaking review of church archives in which Lynn would be incriminated by his own words.
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