Justice proves elusive in case of Monsignor Lynn
The long legal saga involving the highest-ranking Catholic church official ever charged and convicted in connection to the church’s child sex abuse scandal is nearly over.
The questions and moral dilemma that have swirled around this most controversial case? Far from it.
Monsignor William Lynn has now been behind bars for three years after being convicted of a single charge of endangering the welfare of children for his actions involving a suspected predator priest.
Make no mistake, Lynn was never charged as an abuser. His “sin” – in legal terms – was connected to his role as secretary of the clergy for the archdiocese of Philadelphia, where he served under Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. It was in that role that he faced charges connected to his supervisory role over a priest accused of sexually abusing children. In effect, the district attorney alleged Lynn enabled pedophile priests, assigning them to new parishes, where they likely molested more children.
A grand jury report gave a damning version of church policy in connection with problem priests, in effect saying the church routinely moved predator priests from one parish to another, with no warning to parishioners about the priests’ past, thus putting more children at risk.
Lynn was convicted of a single count, but his lawyers had argued that the prosecution was faulty because at the time of his alleged offense, the law actually would not have applied to those in supervisory roles, such as Monsignor Lynn. And they suggested the prosecution should not have been allowed to use the wealth of evidence found among archdiocese records detailing the church’s actions on complaints of child abuse. They vowed to appeal, even while the cleric reported to jail.
This week the Supreme Court upheld the Superior Court ruling in terms of the evidence allowed in Lynn’s prosecution. They tossed his conviction and ordered a new trial. The district attorney now has to decide if he in fact will go down that path – likely without the key evidence used to convict the monsignor.
But Lynn has already served half of the three- to six-year term to which he was sentenced. He could be paroled Oct. 16. His attorneys have gone to court, asking that he be granted bail immediately while awaiting his parole and the decision by the D.A. as to a possible retrial. A bail hearing will be held next week.
In the past District Attorney Seth Williams has vociferously backed the case against Lynn and urged he be kept behind bars.
He has the support of anti-abuse groups such as Survivors of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), who again this week urged anyone with knowledge of Lynn’s handling of accused priests to come forward and speak to the D.A. They obviously are in favor of a retrial.
Lynn’s release “will no doubt feel like yet another blow to hundreds of wounded Phillyarea abuse victims and thousands of betrayed Philly-area Catholics,” said David Clohessy, of the St. Louis-based groups. Enough. The district attorney and victims groups – and in fact many Catholics – seek justice. As those involved with the legislation that would allow victims from decades ago to file civil actions against their abusers and their employers now have learned, that’s a fairly murky idea.
Justice now tells us that Lynn was wrongly convicted – that the law used to charge him actually would not have applied to him at the time, and some of the crucial damning evidence against should not have been admitted.
Moral justice? That’s another matter.
And justice for the victims? That too remains for the most part an elusive ghost.
There is little question that the Archdiocese acted shamefully in its long, sordid history of sexual abuse of children by predatory priests. In short, Lynn and others failed the children, following policies designed more to protect the church and its reputation than the innocence of children.
Many believe Lynn has become something of a whipping boy, taking the fall for church leaders who crafted these policies and ordered him to carry them out, assured that they were out of the reach of the law.
In the case of Monsignor William Lynn, justice has been served. He’s been tried, convicted and done time, even while the appeals process pointed to a faulty case, eventually leading to a new trial.
Without new evidence, little will be accomplished by another trial.
Church officials know what they have done, and vow it will never happen again.
That leaves only the victims, those without a powerful voice. They don’t have the kind of high-powered attorneys the archdiocese routinely uses to argue their case.
They remain for the most part voiceless, just as they have for years.
They suffer in silence, many never coming forward at all for fear no one would believe them.
Keeping Monsignor William Lynn behind bars is not going to change that.