PHILADELPHIA (PA)
BishopAccountability.org
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. William J. Lynn, Edward V. Avery, and James J. Brennan : Trial Narrative and Resources
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The trial of Msgr. William J. Lynn and Rev. James J. Brennan in Philadelphia was complex and lengthy, and its conclusion was a watershed event: the first conviction of a church official for child endangerment. During the trial, witnesses and exhibits provided the jury with information on 21 other accused priests whom Lynn had managed.
We have provided two resources for understanding the trial and the evidence that has been presented during it. On this page, we offer a day-by-day list of the witnesses, evidence, and courtroom discussions, with links to articles by journalists who were present at the trial and filed detailed accounts. The mainstays are John P. Martin and Joseph A. Slobodzian of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Maryclaire Dale and Joann Loviglio of the Associated Press, and Ralph Cipriano of the Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog sponsored by The Beasley Firm. Many other reporters covered the trial, and we have included selections of their work. We have emphasized the longer accounts. The men and women of the press deserve everyone’s sincere thanks for their dedicated and able reporting during this epic trial.
We also provide, on a separate webpage, a day-by-day outline of the topics and persons in the trial to complement the chronological narrative offered on this page. The outline of topics and persons is linked to the narrative below.
Our narrative begins with a table of contents providing single-line summaries of the trial week-by-week. Click on any week, and you jump down the webpage to that week, where resources (marked >), summaries of court events (marked •), and links to articles (marked -) are provided for each day.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.