After almost 3-weeks of deliberation, a Philadelphia jury convicted Monsignor William Lynn of 1-count of child endangerment, and acquitted him of a second count of child endangerment and a conspiracy charge. The jury failed to reach a verdict on the charges against his co-defendant, Rev. James Brennan.
This is disappointing, and one inevitably wonders if the mystique of the collar influenced the jury — but I think the prosecutors won the all-important point: At too-long last, a jury has held the hierarchy of the Catholic Church accountable for the sexual abuse of children in its care, and it’s a safe bet that similarly-situated clergy around the country are feeling uncomfortable.
The case against Lynn, it needs to be remembered, was complicated by the death during the trial of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. No matter; the files are jam packed with other cases just like Lynn’s, and I think it’s likely that other prosecutors will start going after the higher-ups who orchestrated what the record shows clearly was a global criminal conspiracy.
