Msgr. William J. Lynn
With the same expression of serenity that he had shown for 13 weeks, Msgr. William J. Lynn listened to the criminal jury foreman speak the verdict of guilty on one charge of endangering the welfare of a child June 22 at the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia.
Msgr. Lynn becomes the first high-ranking Catholic clergyman in the United States to be convicted of a crime associated with the handling of priests accused of child sexual abuse, though he himself faced no charge of abuse.
The Philadelphia Archdiocese as well as lawyers for the prosecution and defense had been bound from commenting on the trial since it began March 26.
Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina lifted the gag order at the trial’s conclusion.
A statement by the Archdiocese June 22 acknowledged the “difficult time for all Catholics” during the trial, especially for victims of sexual abuse.
“The lessons of the last year have made our Church a more vigilant guardian of our people’s safety,” the statement said. “The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is on a journey of reform and renewal that requires honesty and hope. We are committed to providing support and assistance to parishioners as they and the Church seek to more deeply understand sexual violence, and to create an environment that is safe and welcoming to all, including past victims.”
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The statement said the Archdiocese “offers a heartfelt apology to all victims of clergy sexual abuse. Now and in the future, the Church will continue to take vigorous steps to ensure safe church environments for all the faithful in Philadelphia.”
The charge of child endangerment for which the jury found Msgr. Lynn guilty stemmed from the case of former priest Edward V. Avery, 69.
Before the start of the trial in March, Avery pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an altar boy at St. Jerome Parish in Northeast Philadelphia in the 1990s. Avery was laicized in 2006 and now is serving two and a half to five years in prison.
The jury acquitted Msgr. Lynn of the charge of conspiracy with Avery and other archdiocesan officials and of a second child endangerment charge concerning the case of Father James J. Brennan, 48.
Father Brennan, who has not functioned as a priest since 2006, faced charges of attempted rape and endangerment of a child from an allegation also stemming from the 1990s. The jury declared it was hung on finding a decision on his case.
It has not been determined whether state prosecutors will retry his case before a new jury or drop the charges.
After each juror individually affirmed the decisions on the defendants, Judge Sarmina dismissed them then heard arguments on whether to revoke Msgr. Lynn’s bail and send him to jail.
Assistant District Attorney Patrick Blessington, using his self-described vitriolic and angry rhetoric, sparred for 30 minutes with Msgr. Lynn’s defense attorneys Jeffrey Lindy and Thomas Bergstrom.
Msgr. Lynn’s “reprehensible conduct,” said Blessington, “calls for a lengthy jail sentence. Let’s start it today. That’s justice.”
Lindy and Bergstrom contended that their 61-year-old defendant, who never fled the area in 10 years despite two grand jury appearances and his months-long trial, posed no risk of fleeing or failing to appear for his sentencing hearing scheduled for Aug. 13.
“There’s no evidence to support that he’s a risk for flight,” Bergstrom said.
“Of course he’s a risk for flight because of extradition to the Vatican,” Blessington countered. “His defense is wholly funded by the Church. This man belongs in jail today.”
Sarmina essentially agreed to revoke bail, though she said she would consider house arrest with electronic monitoring until sentencing.
As defense lawyers for Msgr. Lynn discussed details of which family member’s home he might be confined to, a sheriff’s deputy gently led the priest to a side door out of the courtroom and within feet of his family and friends in the gallery, many of whom wept.
The faces of two priest friends of Msgr. Lynn were as grave as those of his family. Not even prosecutors showed emotion at the conclusion of the landmark trial.
Lindy privately told family members that Msgr. Lynn was headed to “CFC,” apparently Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility, the county prison in Northeast Philadelphia. He would remain in isolation, Lindy said, at least until details of what defense lawyers hoped would be house arrest could be arranged with Sarmina.
Later outside the courtroom, jury foreman Isa Logan, a 36-year-old West Philadelphia resident, said he and the other jurors wrangled with the facts of the case and judge’s instructions, but the most influential factor was the testimony at trial of adult victims of clergy sexual abuse.
That testimony alerted him to such dangers in the world for his own three children.
Throughout the 13-week trial, adult victims of sexual abuse stood as powerful witnesses to the lifelong damage that incidents of abuse caused them. Many of the adults had heroically learned to come to grips with experiences even if still brought to tears by the memories. Other victims struggled still with personal problems they say are a result of the abuse they endured.
Besides the testimony of nearly 20 witnesses, jurors weighed a mountain of evidence from almost 2,000 Church files that documented the actions of numerous administrators of the Philadelphia Archdiocese over several decades in an attempt to show a pattern of officials covering up clergy sexual abuse.
Jurors also heard from Msgr. Lynn himself, who under a blistering three-day verbal assault by Blessington, admitted that even though he let a case of one credibly accused priest “slip through the cracks” by failing to handle the case of former priest Stanley Gana promptly, he repeatedly said he was doing the best he could in his position.
The position of secretary for clergy that Msgr. Lynn held from 1992 to 2004 reported up a chain of command in the archdiocesan administration to the former Archbishop of Philadelphia, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died in January this year.
Msgr. Lynn and his lawyers argued that the cardinal bore ultimate responsibility for assigning priests in the Archdiocese.
The jurors seemed to agree partially as they acquitted Msgr. Lynn of conspiracy.
At the same time they held him personally responsible for endangering one boy abused by Avery, who previously had an accusation of abuse against him. They declared, in effect, that Msgr. Lynn should have done more to prevent the abuse.
According to guidelines mentioned June 22 by Sarmina, Msgr. Lynn faces a sentence of six months to seven years for his conviction. His defense lawyers would not comment on whether they will appeal.
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Blesington and Mr. Isa Logan should be jailed for their warped sense of what justice is. I wonder if they ar conspiring together. I do not think that Lynn is not guilty, but it seems to me that his rights as a person and as a criminal have been severly infringed upon. There is a lot of talk these days about religious freedom, but what about the freedoms of a human being and the rights of a criminal. Wm. Lynn did not commit the same crimes as Jerry Sandusky. Why are they being treated in a similar manner.
M Gambino:
“Look of serenity”? are you kidding? More like recognition of the truth–that Lynn finally realizes that even he is not above the law. Couldn’t have happened to a ‘nicer’ guy!
“The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is on a journey of reform and renewal that requires honesty and hope.”……statement of Archdiocese in response to the outcome of the criminal trial re Msgr. Lynn and Father Brennan
Bishop, I submit that there are many, many Philadelphia-area Catholics, including this writer, who are eager, faithful and full of “hope.” It is up to the leadership of the archdiocese, both lay and clergy, to provide the sincere and genuine “honesty” that has been sorely lacking ever since the release of the first Grand Jury Report by the District Attorney’s Office of Philadelphia in September 2005.
Here are a couple of important points to note about this trial: (1)Any fair minded observer will tell you that this trial was an absolute travesty. From charging a person with a crime that was created after the actions for which he was charged (ex posto facto charging is explicitly forbidden by our constitution); to adding a charge not presented to the grand jury; to claiming that Cardinal Bevilacqua was competent two days before his death from dementia and cancer; to entering entire DAYS of testimony concerning incidents occurring long before any of the accused were involved; to having an FBI agent testify to his opinion as to which story was true and which was false; the prosecution seemed to actually be trying to violate due process. Although the prosecution was apparently confident that its actions would not be overturned by the appellate courts in this climate (or that Mgsr. Lynn rot in jail before those courts could interfere); it apparently badly miscalculated the effect of this obvious injustice upon the jury.
(2)Despite the DAYS of testimony of abuse occurring before Mgsr. Lynn was in place, the jury rejected the charge of conspiracy, finding him not guilty of any actions (or inactions) in which he was not directly involved. Although the DA was quick to calm victory before the microphones, it is clear that 11 million taxpayer dollars were spent and the DA lost on the bill (conspiracy) that his entire prosecution aimed to show. The prosecuting attorneys have now egg all over their faces.
It is to be hoped that prosecutors everywhere will take note.
Please… not one penny for an appeal. Not when people are losing jobs and services are being cut.