PENNSYLVANIA
Reuters
BY DAVID DEKOK
HARRISBURG Pa. Tue Nov 18, 2014
(Reuters) – Pennsylvania’s top court on Tuesday heard arguments in the case of Monsignor William Lynn, weighing whether the highest-ranking clergyman convicted in the U.S. Roman Catholic Church child sex abuse scandal should be returned to prison.
Lynn was convicted in 2012 of covering up child sex abuse by priests in Philadelphia, but a three-judge panel later ruled that the abuse law applied only to those with direct responsibility for the care and welfare of children.
Lynn, 63, was a former secretary of the clergy for the Philadelphia Archdiocese who oversaw the work of 800 priests.
He was found guilty of covering up sex abuse, often by transferring predatory priests to unsuspecting parishes.
Prosecutors want his conviction reinstated and Lynn returned to prison. He had served 18 months of a three- to six-year sentence before his conviction was overturned last year.
Hugh Burns, arguing for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, said there was sufficient authority in the law and various court rulings to convict Lynn.
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