PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Bilgrimage
Jerry Slevin has sent one of his wonderful postings. This one focuses on the unfinished business after Msgr. Lynn has been sentenced in Philadelphia. What follows is Jerry’s statement:
At Lynn’s trial, he and his lawyers presented overwhelming evidence that Lynn followed his Cardinal bosses’ orders that resulted in child endangerment. The lawyers were selected under Cardinal Rigali and paid huge sums by the Philly Archdiocese (Philly AD).
Rigali was one of Lynn’s bosses. Lynn served under him, several months as priest personnel chief and almost 8 years as a pastor. Obviously, Lynn filled Rigali in on the “bad priests” and then Rigali learned further details as top man in the Philly AD for almost 8 years until several months ago.
Last year, after receiving his second disastrous Philly Grand Jury priest abuse report in barely five years, Rigali still tried to deny having pedophile priests still actively on board. After some public pressure and perhaps new lawyers’ advice, he quickly reversed himself and in March of last year suspended 36 priests for suspected misconduct with minors. Since then, Rigali’s sudden replacement, Archbishop Chaput, has sacked some of these suspected priests, yet Chaput continues to stall on many of them. It is not clear why he is stalling and whether it relates to trying to protect Rigali.
If Rigali’s evident carrying of 36 alleged pedophiles, some for years it appears, isn’t a “prima face” case for child endangerment, it is hard to see what is. Lynn got 6 years for carrying one pedophile, defrocked Fr. Avery! Cardinal Rigali appears to make Joe Paterno look good! Moreover, the Philly AD makes Penn State look like the minor leagues.
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