PHILADELPHIA (PA)
York Daily Record
By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press
Updated: 01/13/2012
PHILADELPHIA—A Roman Catholic monsignor has taken the rare step of asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to intervene before he becomes the first church official in the U.S. to stand trial for allegedly transferring predator priests.
Lawyers have filed a King’s Bench petition on behalf of Monsignor William Lynn, the longtime secretary of clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Lynn, 61, faces more than a decade in prison if he’s convicted of criminal conspiracy and child endangerment. He is set to stand trial in March, along with two priests and a former Catholic school teacher charged with raping two boys.
Lynn’s lawyers argue that child endangerment cannot apply to defendants who had no direct responsibility for individual children. Several trial judges in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas have rejected that defense in pretrial motions.
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