PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Democrat-Herald
Associated Press | Posted: Wednesday, May 23, 2012
A high-ranking church official accused of moving predator-priests to unwitting parishes took the stand in his own defense Wednesday, telling jurors in the groundbreaking clergy sex-abuse trial that he had no authority to make priest transfers.
Monsignor William Lynn said he also lacked authority to put a priest on leave or suspend him, and could only remove someone on one condition: “The only time I had that authority was if he admitted he had abused someone,” Lynn testified.
Asked who at the archdiocese could transfer or suspend a priest, Lynn replied, “Only the bishop, the cardinal.” …
Lynn’s decision to take the stand Wednesday is risky, giving prosecutors a chance to interrogate him on cross-examination about his handling of 20 accused priest files. The cross-examination was expected Wednesday afternoon.
The dour expression Lynn has shown during nine weeks on trial softened when he took the stand, and he smiled warmly a few times as he answered questions from defense lawyer Thomas Bergstrom. Friends and relatives, several of them priests, filled four rows of seats behind the defense table.
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