PHILADELPHIA (PA)
San Luis Obispo Tribune
By JOANN LOVIGLIO | Associated Press
A series of confidential memos outlining multiple allegations of sexual abuse against a now-defrocked priest were read to jurors Tuesday in the landmark clergy abuse trial under way in Philadelphia.
The memos describe how the archdiocese handled the allegations against the Rev. Stanley Gana lodged in the 1990s. Prosecutors are trying to show that the archdiocese didn’t do enough to protect children from Gana after the accusations arose.
Monsignor William Lynn, 61, supervised more than 800 priests as the secretary for clergy in Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004. He’s the first U.S. church official charged over his handling of abuse complaints against priests.
Prosecutors charge that he kept dangerous priests in parish work around children to protect the church’s reputation and avoid scandal. He faces up to 28 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy and child endangerment.
A detective read confidential memos and other documents to jurors about Gana that dated back to 1992. The documents include reports made to the church, and conversations with Lynn and others, by several young men who said they were molested by Gana for years as adolescents.
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