PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Washington Post
Trial evidence: Philadelphia-area pastor punished for raising concerns about predator priest
By Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — A jury in a Philadelphia clergy-abuse trial has heard about a pastor who was censured for raising concerns about a priest assigned to his parish.
Documents show the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua vowed not to tolerate “even the appearance of disobedience” from the pastor.
Monsignor Michael Picard was punished for complaining when the priest was assigned to his Newtown, Pa., parish in 1996. In disciplinary meetings with the cardinal, Picard said he had heard disturbing information about the priest.
Prosecutors say the subject of Picard’s concern was sent elsewhere. In 2005, the priest was accused of sexually assaulting a minor in 1982. The priest died in 2006.
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