Prosecutors in the landmark trial of two priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia this week portrayed through witnesses an apparent longstanding pattern of archdiocesan officials failing to inform parishioners or parish pastors about priests assigned to their parish who had been accused of sexual misconduct or sexual abuse of children.
The court examined cases of priests previously mentioned in the grand jury reports of 2005 or 2011, including Fathers Francis X. Trauger, Raymond O. Leneweaver, Albert T. Kostelnick and Michael G. Murtha. Only the latter involved actions from 1995 onward. The others involved incidents from the late 1960s until 1991.
Msgr. William J. Lynn is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. The charges stem from his actions as the former archdiocesan secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2003 in which he was responsible for responding to the needs of priests and recommending to Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua their ministerial assignments in the Archdiocese.
Also standing trial is Father James J. Brennan, charged with attempted rape of a minor in 1996.
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At the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia March 28, assistant district attorney Mark Cipolletti produced as a witness a young man who told how in 1991 he was stalked by a priest and led into an encounter at a Catholic high school that nearly resulted in sexual assault until discovered and broken up by a teacher.
The priest, Father Francis X. Trauger, allegedly noticed, followed and approached the 15-year-old student of then St. John Neumann High School in South Philadelphia in 1991.
The boy refused to state his name when asked, but the school jacket he was wearing gave the priest enough information to tell the boy, “Don’t worry, I will find you.”
It was later learned, the witness testified, that the priest used ruses to discover the boy’s identity, where he lived, his family members’ names, his mother’s appearance and his father’s occupation.
Eventually Father Trauger gained access to a locked room at the school. The encounter began with the priest discussing sexuality but led to him touching the boy and unzipping his pants before a teacher banged on the locked door and told Father Trauger to open it, after which the boy fled home.
The principal and vice principal of the school, both Norbertine order priests, met with the boy and his parents at their home to discuss the incident. The boy said he related many of the details, excluding how Father Trauger touched him, but not the full story until 1997, with his father.
The witness, now 36, said no archdiocesan administrator interviewed him about the incident until investigator Jack Rossiter met him in 2003. Notes of that meeting, which the young man only saw in recent weeks in preparation for his testimony at the trial, inaccurately recorded details of the interview, he testified.
It remained unclear at the trial whether the Office for Clergy, which Msgr. Lynn would not lead until a year later, informed administrators of the high school about alleged past sexually abusive behavior of Father Trauger that was noted in the 2005 grand jury report, nor whether they informed the Clergy Office about the alleged 1991 incident.
Msgr. Lynn’s defense attorney Thomas Bergstrom confirmed that the witness had never met or heard of Msgr. Lynn and that he did not become secretary for clergy until a year after the alleged incident.
Bergstrom addressed the court to question the “probative value” of the evidence presented, or why the cases of priests preceding Msgr. Lynn’s tenure at the Clergy Office were under examination at the trial. He contended the cases were irrelevant.
But Judge Teresa Sarmina said the cases were relevant because “when he (Msgr. Lynn) sees the same sorts of behaviors surface … his job calls him to be alerted to them. That is how that (evidence) ties into Avery and Brennan, and how the jury decides, not me. That is how the evidence ties into the case.”
Former priest Edward Avery pleaded guilty on March 23 to abusing a boy in the 1990s. His case and that of Father Brennan form the two charges of child endangerment against Msgr. Lynn.
As evidence regarding the actions of Father Murtha was presented, prosecutors placed actions surrounding responses to his behavior firmly within the timeframe of Msgr. Lynn’s tenure at the Clergy Office.
Four archdiocesan priests, all currently parish pastors, testified that when Father Murtha was assigned to their parish by the archbishop of the time, Cardinal Bevilacqua, they received little if any background on his prior behavior or therapeutic treatment.
Parishioners at all four parishes also never learned from the Archdiocese about Murtha’s alleged possession of pornographic magazines and videos. Nor did they learn about a letter he allegedly wrote but never delivered which graphically described sexual acts he wished to perform on a seventh grade boy in a Northeast Philadelphia parish grade school.
The behavior was first noticed by a fellow priest who was stationed with Murtha at the parish in 1995, who reported it to his superiors. After attempts at treatment for sexual addiction and support from archdiocesan priests and counselors, Father Murtha continued to be assigned to three more parishes.
The pastors continued to observe problem behavior and request that the Archdiocese transfer him and obtain psychiatric treatment and support for him.
Pastors of those parishes testified they were never informed of Murtha’s history of behavior, until discovering evidence on their own.
Under cross examination by Bergstrom, the pastors said they informed their superiors of Murtha’s behavior, which included flashes of anger and defiance of authority, and requested his reassignment. But they made no reports to civil authorities.
To prosecutors, evidence from the first week of the trial pointed toward a pattern of trying to hide the truth of sexual misconduct or abuse in the Church from parishioners.
To defense lawyers, the administrative actions revealed a clerical culture that favored sending information up a chain of command to Msgr. Lynn but ultimately above him to his superiors, and one of trying to obtain treatment and ongoing counseling support for a troubled priest.
Today, none of the priests mentioned as having allegations of abuse or misconduct are serving in priestly ministry in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
Francis Trauger and Raymond Leneweaver were laicized — a Church law process that renders a priest or deacon as a lay person — in 2005. Father Kostelnick died in 2009.
Father Murtha is not listed on an archdiocesan web site among other laicized priests, nor among priests indicated as “pending” in the laicization process. That list includes Father James J. Brennan.
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Landmark clergy sex abuse trial begins in Philadelphia
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The fact that we are now into the second week of the criminal trial vs. defendants Lynn and Brennan and there is only a single comment on this topic is truly unbelievable. No matter the point of view, interest, perspective or feeling, one way or the other, concerning the critically important event in the history of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, I cannot believe that Philadelphia-area Catholics are not interested, compelled or desirous of sharing their input, feelings and judgments regarding the details being presented in the courtroom at the Criminal Justice Center.
For better or for worse, this historic trial will have a dramatic impact on the future of the Catholic church and faith here in the Delaware Valley for years to come.
I appreciate this summary of trial events. The facts are stated in a concise manner making it simple to understand trial proceedings. This is a good way to keep up with this important event. I hope to check back more frequently for updates.
I have just finished reading a phillymag piece on the scandal and thought it would be best to respond here.I have prayerfully reflected long and hard on the sex abuse scandal. It ripped me apart. I love the Church! The evidence points to the real culprit, a loss of enforcing the natural law within the Church. The Church tolerated this aberrant behavior which was contrary to the natural law with a sense of compassion and false hope.
As a Church we have learned! The hard way. As the Bride of Christ she must address the inherent corruption and begin to purify thorugh prayer, fasting, penance and action. Since we are her members that means all of us! I have no tolerance for those who irrationally argue that it is intolerant for the Church to teach and believe in the natural law while at the same time bashing the Church’s mishandling of the abuse. It seems that it was a false sense of compassionate tolerance that led us into this mess. I think the adversaries of the Church and the natural law should look hard and fast at the evidence. As the original John Jay report notes most of the sex crimes committed resulted from same sex attraction toward adolescent boys not little boys and very few girls. Therefore, one very important ingredient(not the only ingredient) for the antedote to the the pain and agony associateed with the scandal is a true return to enforcing the Natural law within the Church and not turning a blind eye to it. Once we depart from the natural law..well..all hell breaks loose. It will be argued that sexual relations can occur between any age group, anytime,any where, any place because why restrict pleasure? What is considered a sex crime today in Court will be a legal way of life in the future! If we keep progressing down the path away from the natural law we are headed for extinction. Aren’t we seeing this chaotic grasp for pleasure throughout our culture? This present culture might lead persons into some fleeting sense of pleasure but it will never lead to the natural pupose for which we were made. If we do not follow the Natural Law given to us by Our Creator (and recognized by all of the Founders of this nation )then what moral compass do we follow? Do we return to the Natural Law or do we progress toward our own plesureable chaotic self destruction?
My family members were victims of sexual misconduct within the Episcopalian Church. I speak from the experience of watching people suffer due to clerical misconduct. I also lost a brother to aids.
This is not only a Catholic Church matter! This is a societal matter. As Catholics, we need to commit to live radically holy lives, not in the future, but now.
The Catholic Church will be Persecuted for sticking to the truth. She will be called a hypocrite. On the surface it might appear that way. But that is a false appearance. The apparent hypocrisy needs to be removed as best as it can.But please judge the Church by those who stick with the way, the saints, and not by the way of the rebellious. She will handle the insults and threats beautifully just like the pierced heart of the Blessed mother.She will not bow to the insults nor the slings and arrows of those who propose a way of life contrary to the natural law. NO! Instead, she will, as the Bride of Christ, weather the storm, stand prayerfully beneath the cross,reform and heal within her ranks, and with an unwavering eternal strength rise prophetically to proclaim the Truth of Jesus Christ: the Natural Law is the way of life which ensures our happiness and healthiness as individuals and as a society. It is the way to eternity!
I am praying for all especially the victims and accused and those who are confused!
The following statement from the Northeast Times in Philadelphia shortly after the release of the first GJR in September 2005 may be helpful in understanding certain issues in the trial:
According to an attorney for the archdiocese, C. Clark Hodgson of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, church officials were not obligated by state law to report sex-abuse cases to civil authorities unless the actual child victim notified the church personally. If the child’s parent filed the complaint with the archdiocese, however, church officials did not have to notify police.
I do not know what if anything has changed in the law that would affect the archdiocese’s responsibility as described by Mr. Hodgson in 2005. One thing is for certain, though: the goals and mission of an organization (Archdiocese of Philadelphia) are separate and distinct from the goals of the individuals (the Philadelphia-area Catholic laity) they profess to serve and minister to.