PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Motley Monk
It’s the contents of a mystery novel where the setting normally would be a medieval monastery, but it’s unfolding now in Common Pleas Court in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, according to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Ostensibly, the trial focuses upon an alleged systematic cover-up of pedophile priests on the part of administrators of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Prosecutors allege that despite knowing or suspecting that they might sexually abuse children, the former Secretary for Clergy, Monsignor William J. Lynn, recommended priests for assignments. Lynn is first and highest-ranking church official indicted for covering up clerical sexual abuse.
However, Monsignor Lynn’s lawyers argue in a recent filing that new documents indicate Lynn was one of a few Archdiocesan officials who attempted to deal with the issue of clerical sexual abuse.
How?
According to the filing:
After being named Secretary for Clergy in 1992, Monsignor Lynn undertook an examination of the secret personnel files of hundreds of priests to gauge the scope of clerical sexual misconduct. Lynn examined the files because he “felt it was the right thing to do.”
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