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Judge may release Pa. monsignor, if Vatican will agree not to harbor him if he flees
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A judge indicated Tuesday she might release a convicted Roman Catholic monsignor to await sentencing if the Vatican will agree not to harbor him in the event he flees to Rome.
Monsignor William Lynn, the first U.S. church official prosecuted for his handling of child-abuse complaints, was convicted last week of one felony child endangerment count for his role in the cover-up of complaints at the Philadelphia archdiocese.
Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina considered his request Tuesday for home detention while he awaits sentencing but ordered him to remain jailed, pending a July 5 court date when she will reconsider the request.
Lynn, 61, faces about 3-1/2 to seven years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 13. His lawyers insist he is not a flight risk and want him released on house arrest until then. He surrendered his passport to the court Tuesday.
“He doesn’t want to go to France. He doesn’t want to go to Spain. He doesn’t want to go to the Vatican … He just wants to go back to St. Joe’s Parish in Pennsylvania,” defense lawyer Tom Bergstrom said after the hearing.
But prosecutors urged the judge to keep Lynn in jail, offering up a news story that said that 35 Roman Catholic priests have fled during criminal cases. Most apparently fled before trial, often to their native country, Sarmina noted.
The jury convicted Lynn of endangering a victim of now-defrocked priest Edward Avery, who is now in prison after admitting he sexually assaulted an altar boy in church in 1999. Lynn knew Avery had been credibly accused of abuse years earlier. As secretary for clergy, Lynn had him sent for sexual-offender treatment, but knew he was later sent to live in a parish. [More]
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31 Comments
Tony, the state of your souls shines out through your comments above. May the Lord correct you in His Love and Mercy. God bless you.
I think it best to leave opinions of the state of someones soul to God and the individual.
Holy Mother the Church had Joan of Arc put to death by the Inqusition as a heretic and witch only to declare her a saint later on.
Ezekiel 33:7-9 tell us that we are to admonish those in error, and if we do not, then God will damn them, but hold the silent one accountable for the other’s damnation. Gail is performing a spiritual work of mercy for you, Tony.
Who was it who said, “judge not, lest you be judged.?”. Personally I don’t think it is a good idea to quote little pieces of scripture to prove a point
Tony — it was Jesus, of course, who instructed us not to judge, yet at Luke 17:3 and multiple other places, He specifically directed us to judge. So, how to resolve the conflict? What we can’t judge is a person’s heart / their intentions / the state of their soul. What we CAN and SHOULD judge is their behavior. So, I can’t judge the heart of a crack addict, but I certainly should judge that continuing to use crack will lead to their destruction.
What more do you want? The Church has done more than any other segment of society to prevent this abomination from ever happening again. They have prohibited gays from entering the Priesthood and have implemented policies which will prevent this from ever happening again. And paid millions in settlements. The Pope has personally apologized and the shame is overwhelming to the Church. So where’s this hate coming from…
You mean a mother has an excuse and Lynn does not? Mothers have just as much responsibility to report, if not more.
Yes of course J.O. mothers have such a responsibility too.
Msgr. Lynn’s situation is “like” a mother in a family where the father sexually abuses his own children. Knowing of it she does many things to prevent it or even just turns her head. Msgr. Lynn was also caught, between his superior and stepping forward to report. I hope that he can serve his sentence on tether at a religious facility. Days of prayer would serve him and his community.
Low Life Lynn was not a mother of a family, he was first a priest, and the leader of a diocese who had the obligation to act as a responsible adult.
I would not call Msgr Lynn a low life. That misses the mark by a very long shot. I think it is a sad situation for the Msgr. Clearly he failed in his duty even if he succeeded in making Bevilaqua satisfied. Lynn should have asked for reassignment.
Calling him a low life is unfair, really. But he is guilty, and should pay for that.
Carl, I beg to differ with you. You state he should have asked for reassignment, that would not have shown a light on the criminal acts committed in his diocese. Someone else would have been given the duty to reassign and move these perverts to new hunting grounds. Yes, Carl, he is a low life shilling for the diocese of philly. We can only hope he gets what he deserves. Guilty as charged.
Maybe so Tony But Bubba’s not going to want booty he is going to take a mop wringer to there heads or set them on fire in there cells. Not a nice sight
Let’s just say the church has a way of getting people out of the hands of justice…anyone remember the midnight ride of cardinal law into vatican security the week he was supposed to testify? It’s been done before and can be done again.
Tony; I presume you have been “educated” b y your pastor. IS it Bill Bob Brown or Jimmy Jack Jones of the local storefront “church?” You know, the guy who gets “ordained” by purchasing a certificate online from a bigger charlatan than he is, for $25.00 or is it $50 with inflation? One of 33,000 “denominations” all of whose members are already assigned their place in hell; You just don’t know it yet! Of course the name “Tony” might be a phony to throw us of the track that you are an atheist or satan worshiper…
??????
You make no sense…
And…low life teachers who have abused and have been hidden by school boards–boy sout leader who abuse and have been hidden…etc. A man who witnessed Sandusky in a shower and just “reported” it instead of stopping it dead in its tracks..what about them?
Well Terik, was I talking about Jerry Sandusky? Go back and take you psych meds so you can follow a conversation rationally.
“but knew he was later sent to live in a parish” Take a look at that sentence.
Let Lowlife Lynn enjoy Bubba and his new living conditions.
I did — but first, it does not say he assigned him to another parish. Second, we don’t know what the treating professional said about his dangerousness — perhaps the recommendation was to put him back in a parish with minimal contact with children and closely monitor him.
If the latter is accurate, that makes Msgr. the fall guy.
But you, O forgiving Tony, are ready to condemn and condemn. “If you do not forgive your brother his offenses, then neither will you Heavenly Father forgive you yours.” That’s what the founder and head of the my Church said in Matthew 6. What did the founder of your religion say, Tony? “Be gay if you want, use contraception if you want, it’s a matter of conscience?” I’ll follow my leader, you can follow the dictates of your own rebellious conscience.
It is the nature of this forum to be able to express ones opinion. It should be presumed that the opinons expressed here are out of love of the People of God.
Thanks, Tony — that exactly describes my opinions. Remember, love is not greeting card sentimentality — we have become excessively feminiized, especially in Boston. I am speaking with a masculine love that corrects those on the wrong path; confer Hebrews chapter 12.
You are very much like the old farts in Rome who threaten people with eternal damnation if they step out of line. You are even sicker than they are in the name of God.
Have you been assigned to be “real catholic” moderator of this website by your opus dei superior?
No, but thank you for the comliment.
That should have said, “Thank you for the COMPLIMENT.” It’s nice not to be criticized by you for a change, Tony.
Take a look at the last sentence in the above story: “As secretary for clergy, Lynn had him sent for sexual-offender treatment, but knew he was later sent to live in a parish.” So, the Msgr. very well may have been following the recommendation of the treating professional. What a rush to judgment Tony and others are doing. You don’t know the specific circumstances. This man may have done what most of us would have done in that situation, especially in the 1990s, with less awareness of the recidivism of child sexual offenders. “If you do not forgive your brothers their offenses, then neither will you Heavenly Father forgive you yours.”
Low life Lynn and his brother low life priests involved in the coverups deserve every minute the get in jail, There, Bubba can show them first hand what sex abuse is all about.
Besides the horrific actions they have brought on their victims and their families they have disgraced the church and the priesthood and made them the laughing stock of the world.
It seems like those protesting the loudest might know something personally about abuse. We’re sorry if anyone was abused, the priest sex abuse scandal was an abomination. But to continuously blame the Church over and over again when the public schools have 100% more abuse and no one is held accountable, and to blame the Priesthood, where 99.98% are innocent, over and over again, demonstrates to me, a deep hatred for the church….
Where better to express anger and frustration about the abomination of the sex abuse situation in the Church thand a website designed to speak about church matters?