Philly judge halts release of cardinal's grand jury testimony, filed to support criminal case

The Republic

MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press
First Posted: July 25, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — A judge on Monday halted the release of 1,200 pages of grand jury testimony on a Roman Catholic cardinal relating to his handling of priest sex-abuse complaints in Philadelphia.

Prosecutors filed Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua's secret testimony from 2003 to support conspiracy charges filed this year against a high-ranking church official, they said in court papers filed Friday.

Monsignor William Lynn, 60, is charged with conspiracy and child endangerment for allegedly transferring priest-predators without warning. Lynn served as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, mostly under Bevilacqua.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sunday that Bevilacqua, the former archbishop, had testified that accused priests "would not be able to function" at new parishes if people were warned of their backgrounds.

Grand jurors found the leader of the Philadelphia archdiocese "excused and enabled" the abuse, and was "not forthright" and "untruthful" during 10 grand jury appearances over eight months, the newspaper reported. He was not charged because the statute of limitations had run out.

Common Pleas Judge Lillian Ransom put a hold on the further release of the grand jury testimony and other documents filed Friday. She did not immediately return a call for comment on her action Monday. Neither side asked to have the documents sealed.

Lynn is the only U.S. church official ever charged in the sex-abuse scandal for his administrative actions.

Four others — two priests, an ex-priest and a former teacher — are charged in the same criminal case with raping boys. Three of them raped the same boy, starting when he was a 10-year-old altar boy, a second grand jury charged this year.

The prosecution's latest filings came in response to Lynn's motion to have the charges dismissed or have his case tried separately.

"It is understandable that he would not want a jury to see the exact nature of the danger to which he subjected parish children, or the consequences of his action. But ... the crimes Lynn enabled would clearly be admissible even if he were tried separately," Assistant District Attorney Mariana Sorensen wrote in the 65-page response, obtained by The Associated Press.

Lynn's lawyers declined to comment Monday on the filings, citing an ongoing gag order in the case.

The motions will be argued at a key hearing Friday. Defense lawyers assert that he had no children in his care and cannot therefore be charged with endangering them.

Prosecutors argue the charge can apply to anyone with a duty to protect the general "welfare" of children, and not just those with direct supervision of them. The archdiocese was charged with protecting children at its schools and parishes, prosecutors wrote.
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