PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By John P. Martin and Joseph A. Slobodzian
Inquirer Staff Writers
Six years have passed since Stanley Gana was ousted from the priesthood over child-sex abuse claims, and another decade since he was removed as a pastor by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Yet prosecutors at the conspiracy and endangerment case against two Philadelphia priests spent much of last week telling jurors about the 69-year-old defrocked cleric.
As the landmark trial reached its midway point, Gana, who was left in ministry despite claims he raped multiple boys, represented a centerpiece of sorts.
His was a textbook example, prosecutors say, of how the archdiocese and its former secretary for clergy, Msgr. William J. Lynn, cared more about protecting the institution than abuse victims.
It also served as a backdrop for the most stunning revelation in the trial’s first month: Allegations from two witnesses and a prosecutor that a sitting prelate, Bishop Michael Bransfield of West Virginia, may have known about sexual misconduct by Gana or abused minors himself.
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