UNITED STATES
dotCommonweal
June 24, 2012
Posted by Paul Moses
At the same time the U.S. Catholic bishops are giving daily lessons on how important it is for government to respect individual conscience, the Philadelphia jury that convicted Monsignor William Lynn on Friday of child endangerment has offered a lesson on the role of conscience in the church.
In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, jury foreman Isa Logan spoke of how he told the other jurors about his military experience; he served two years in an artillery unit in Korea. “All I told them was, I’m a soldier, and if my commander tells me to do something that’s inhumane or against any kind of Army rules,” he would not, Logan said. “I’m a human being before I’m a soldier.”
Contrast that with Monsignor Lynn’s testimony, reported here by journalist Ralph Cipriano:
Lynn’s direct testimony ended in a flourish, when [defense lawyer Thomas] Bergstrom asked the monsignor why he didn’t just quit his job as secretary for clergy, as some critics have suggested.
It’s “not in my nature to do that,” Lynn said. He explained he had a “simple faith” that “the will of God works through the bishop as far as your assignments are concerned.” He said he preaches that belief to fellow priests. It was a belief that provoked classmates in the seminary to call him a fool, Lynn said with a smile. But the monsignor said he sincerely believed it, so how could he quit his job as secretary for the clergy under Cardinal Bevilacqua?
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.