PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Chicago Tribune
May 22, 2012|Dave Warner | Reuters
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – A priest testified on Tuesday that the Catholic Church had followed the advice of legal counsel in keeping quiet about molestation charges as lawyers for Monsignor William Lynn opened their case in the trial over the Philadelphia child sex abuse scandal.
Lynn, 61, the most senior U.S. clergyman to go on trial in the Roman Catholic Church’s pedophilia scandal, is charged with child endangerment and conspiracy over accusations he covered up child sex abuse allegations against priests, many of whom were simply transferred to unsuspecting parishes.
He faces the possibility of 28 years in prison if convicted.
Monsignor Michael McCulken testified that the church declined to call law enforcement authorities when it learned of child sex abuse claims because “they were beyond the statute of limitations” at the time.
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