PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Olympian
By MARYCLAIRE DALE | Associated Press • Published April 02, 2012
Two jurors in the landmark priest-abuse trial under way in Philadelphia were dismissed Monday, just one week into the trial that could last three months or more.
It’s not clear why the pair were removed before the trial resumed, but two of the eight alternates seated replaced them.
Monsignor William Lynn is on trial for child endangerment and conspiracy. Lynn, 61, is 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. …
The testimony Monday included a 1992 complaint about a priest who allegedly molested boys at a church-owned camp three decades earlier.
Several junior counselors complained in the early 1960s that the priest was on the prowl at night, molesting them in their tents. They said it was a well-known secret among teen counselors for several years.
The priest remained in ministry, working at three archdiocesan high schools and serving as assistant superintendent of Catholic schools in the mid-1960s. Confronted after a man complained to the archdiocese in 1992, the priest admitted to the “sin” of masturbation and said he had read up on that subject because so many people were mentioning it in the confessional.
The campers, too, referred to it as a “sin” that they had committed with the priest on various occasions. Some did not report it then because they “lacked courage” or feared the consequences, a detective testified, based on his reading of the church files.
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