PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NECN

May 22, 2012

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The defense is set to start Tuesday in the trial of a former Roman Catholic church official charged with helping cover-up child sex-abuse complaints in the Philadelphia archdiocese.

Monsignor William Lynn has been on trial for eight weeks. The prosecution evidence included testimony from more than a dozen people who say they were abused by priests.

Jurors have also seen hundreds of internal church documents found in secret archives.

The 61-year-old Lynn is the first U.S. church official charged for his handling of abuse complaints. Defense lawyers argue that he took orders from the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.