Last week I posted about the defrocked priest, Edward Avery, who changed his plea in a child molestation trial to guilty and said the Catholic Church knew he raped boys and did nothing about it; original post HERE.
Well, the trial of a couple of his, um, cohorts, began this week and jurors are getting an earful about the priest-turned-pedophile and another priest who allegedly bragged about having sex with three boys in one week.
Bragged.
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| Monsignor William Lynn Pedophile protector |
Monsignor William Lynn is on trial for child endangerment and conspiracy, and holds the distinction of being the first Roman Catholic Church official in the U.S. charged for his handling of priest-abuse complaints. Prosecutors say he helped the church bury them in secret files, far from the prying eyes of investigators, civil attorneys and concerned Catholics.
That's sick enough, but even more disgusting, and more damning--in every sense of the word--are the internal church memos, read aloud by a police detective, about a priest who allegedly "joked about how hard it was to have sex with three boys in one week."
And these "people" were protected by the Catholic Church.
How fun that must have been, for the Monsignor and his rag-tag group of pedophiles to joke about raping boys, and to laugh about the priest who said he had a "rotation process" of boys spending time sleeping with him.
Disgusting.
And even more disgusting are the ddefense lawyers who are arguing that Lynn tried to address the problem as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, but was blocked by the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and others in the Philadelphia archdiocese.
Hmmm, let's see, the Cardinal blocks you from addressing the problem of pedophiles raping boys in your midst, so what to do, what to do? How about calling the police? How about speaking up? Howe about doing any other thing than closing your mouth and keeping those secrets?
Monday's testimony also included a twenty-year-old complaint about a different priest who allegedly molested boys at a church-owned camp in the 60s. It seems that, back then, some counselors had complained that the priest was on the prowl at night, molesting them in their tents, and said the priest's actions were a well-known secret among the counselors for several years.
And yet, that priest remained in the ministry, working at three archdiocesan high schools and serving as assistant superintendent of Catholic schools through 2004; he molested boys as far back as the 60s and was allowed to work around boys for the next forty years.
Even sicker? In 1992, the priest was confronted after a man complained to the archdiocese, and he finally admitted his "sin"--notice how they don't call it a crime--of masturbation. Not rape, masturbation. And the church let it go, because the priest said he did nothing wrong, other than choke his chicken.
He remained in the Catholic school system until 2004, when a church panel finally reviewed the complaints against him, and decided the forty-year-old allegations were credible. It was then that priest admitted to molesting three boys, and explained earlier denials on the fact he had confessed and moved past it.
Moved past raping children. How lovely.
His punishment? The archdiocese restricted his ministry.
How many more allegations have to surface before Catholics demand action from their church leaders? How many more rape victims must come forward before good Catholics do something?
How many?
