PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By John P. Martin
Inquirer Staff Writer
A letter written by a Philadelphia priest four decades ago about teenage brothers on a sadomasochistic outing could help prove that church officials endangered children 30 years later, a prosecutor contended Wednesday.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia learned about the letter in 1968, but allowed the Rev. John Mulholland to work and minister at parishes across the region until 2002, Assistant District Attorney Mariana Sorensen said.
“It shows that they put blinders on,” Sorensen told Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina.
Prosecutors want to be allowed to tell jurors about decades-old conduct by Mulholland, who no longer is a priest, and dozens of other priests during the March trial for William J. Lynn, the archdiocese’s former secretary for clergy. They say the evidence will help them prove that Lynn’s actions regarding two other priests, facing trial with him, are part of a long-term pattern or practice by the church of protecting abusive clergy and hiding their conduct from parishioners.
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