PHILADELPHIA — Monsignor William Lynn, a former cardinal’s aide, was found guilty Friday of endangering children, becoming the first senior official of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States convicted of covering up sexual abuses by priests under his supervision.
The 12-member jury acquitted Lynn, of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, of conspiracy and a second count of endangerment after a trial that prosecutors and victims rights groups called a turning point in the abuse scandals that have shaken the Catholic Church.
The single guilty verdict was widely seen as a victory for the district attorney’s office, which has been investigating the archdiocese aggressively since 2002, and it was hailed by victim advocates who have argued for years that senior church officials should be held accountable for concealing evidence and transferring predatory priests to unwary parishes.
Lynn, 61, sat impassively as the jury foreman announced the verdicts, but relatives behind him were in tears. Judge M. Teresa Sarmina of Common Pleas Court revoked his bail, and the monsignor stood up, removed his clerical jacket and was led by sheriff’s deputies to a holding cell area. His conviction, on the 13th day of deliberations, could result in a prisonterm of 3 1/2 to seven years; sentencing is set for Aug. 13.
“I think that bishops and chancery officials understand that they will no longer get a pass on these types of crimes,” said Nicholas Cafardi, a professor of law at Duquesne University, a canon lawyer and frequent church adviser.
The three-month trial cast a harsh light on the top leadership of the archdiocese, especially Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, whom Lynn advised. Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1988 to 2003, he died in January, but his name was invoked frequently during the testimony. Lynn’s own lawyer told the jury that “in this trial, you have seen the dark side of the church.”
The revelations of sexual abuse and seeming official indifference have tormented an archdiocese that was long known for imperious leaders and an insular camaraderie among its priests - “the priestly equivalent of the blue wall of silence,” said Rocco Palmo, the Philadelphia-based writer of Whispers in the Loggia, a blog on Catholic affairs. It has also been costly: The financially ailing archdiocese said recently that legal fees and internal investigations spurred by the abuse cases had cost $11.6 million since early 2011.
Bevilacqua and his aides, the prosecutors argued, sought to avoid scandal and costly lawsuits at almost any price, putting the reputation of the archdiocese ahead of protecting vulnerable children.
The archdiocese issued a conciliatory statement Friday, saying that “the lessons of the last year have made our church a more vigilant guardian of our people’s safety,” and offering a “heartfelt apology to all victims of clerical abuse.”
Lynn served as secretary for clergy for the 1.5 millionmember archdiocese from 1992 to 2004, recommending priest assignments and investigating abuse complaints. Prosecutors presented a flood of evidence that Lynn had not acted strongly to keep suspected molesters away from children, let aloneto report them to law enforcement.
But the length of the jurors’ deliberations and the mixed verdict showed the difficulty of placing criminal blame on one church official. The jurors alsowrestled with the definition of conspiracy and with the question of criminal intent on the part of Lynn, who presented himself as an affable man who tried his best. Nevertheless, the Philadelphia district attorney, Seth Williams, said Friday that the verdict had sent a lesson to the nation.
“This monumental case will change the way business is done in many institutions,” he said. “People will not shield predators any longer.”
Lynn’s lawyers are expected to appeal.
“The guilty verdict sends a strong and clear message that shielding and enabling predator priests is a heinous crime that threatens families, communities and children, and must be punished as such,” said Barbara Dorris of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
A second priest, the Rev. James Brennan, 49, was tried with Lynn, charged with attempted rape and endangerment of a youth, but the defense challenged the accuser’s credibility.
To convict, the jury had to find that Brennan had not only abused that boy but continued to put children at risk over subsequent years of ministry. The prosecutors couldn’t find later victims. The jury said it was deadlocked on the two counts against Brennan, and Sarmina declared a mistrial on those charges.
Lynn’s defense hinged on his claim that he had tried to curb abuses but that only the cardinal had the authority to remove priests. One crucial piece of evidence was a list drawn up in 1994 by Lynnof some three dozen active priests who had been credibly accused of sex abuses. Before the trial began, a lawyer for the archdiocese turned over to the court a frayed folder including a copy of the list, saying it had been found in a locked safe.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 06/23/2012