PENNSYLVANIA
Patch
By James Myers
By now most readers are familiar with the case against Monsignor William Lynn. Lynn was charged with several counts of endangering children and conspiracy for his alleged role in covering up instances of sexual abuse of children by priests in Archdiocese of Philadelphia. [See this timeline of the case put together by The New York Times.]
On Friday, Lynn, a former aide to Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, was found guilty of endangering children and became the first senior official of the Roman Catholic Church in America convicted of covering up sexual abuses by priests. Lynn was acquited of conspiracy and another count of endangerment by the jury.
Many local Catholics have struggled for years with their faith and loyalty to the church in the face of sexual abuse allegations and cover ups. While it is often the topic of discussion at the dinner table, around the water cooler or on social media sites like Facebook, it is rarely addressed at the altar.
Father Liam Murphy, who served at Saint Patrick’s Church in Norristown from 2004 to 2011 and is now stationed at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in West Grove, Pa., plans to do just that in his remarks to his parishoners at this week’s masses. He’s posted his thoughts, in which he takes church leadership to task for its silence on this issue, to his Facebook page:
Dear Friends:
This is a copy of my remarks made at Masses on the weekend of June 23-24:
“I would be remiss if I didn’t say something about the elephant in the room. Yes. As has been reported in the news, Msgr. Lynn was found guilty on Friday of child endangerment. For some, perhaps many, this verdict brings with it at least some small sense of justice rendered. No doubt, it makes clear that “I was just following orders,” is an unacceptable defense in the face of blatant evil.
Yet for many with whom I have spoken and with whom I agree, it is only a partial sense of justice. Because the other elephant in the room is the fact that those directly in charge, the bishops, have yet to claim or accept responsibility for their own horrific part in this painful scandal. Not a single bishop has acknowledged or apologized for his decision to put the image of the Church before the protection and care of sexual abuse victims of clergy. Nor have any bishops had the decency or courage to call their fellow bishops to accountability.
The result? Many Catholics, including fellow clerics, friends who are practicing Catholics and friends who have left a Church they find disingenuous, dismiss the bishops as inauthentic and unworthy of their attention.
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