PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By John P. Martin
Inquirer Staff Writer
Barely four minutes into his closing argument Thursday, defense lawyer Thomas Bergstrom uttered two words that seemed woven into the daily script of the clergy sex-abuse trial:
“The cardinal.”
Bergstrom went on to mention the cardinal – former Philadelphia Archbishop Anthony J. Bevilacqua – at least 18 more times in an hour. Some were passing references, but all were part of a bid to convince jurors that his client, Msgr. William J. Lynn, had the will but not the power to remove abusive priests.
That power, Bergstrom said, rested solely with the cardinal.
Bevilacqua spent his final years in isolation before his death in January. Still, the landmark 11-week trial of Lynn, his former secretary for clergy, and whatever verdict the jury may render, could shape Bevilacqua’s legacy as much as any event in his career as a prelate.
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