PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
Inquirer Editorial
For the first U.S. church official convicted of covering up sex abuse by priests, the appropriate wages of sin include jail.
Beyond punishing Philadelphia Roman Catholic Msgr. William J. Lynn for failing to shield an altar boy from a priest known to have molested another youth, the certainty that he will spend three years in prison — and as many as six — sends a powerful message to anyone who enables abuse.
Lynn, 61, who served as secretary for clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004, was convicted last month of child endangerment.
The 12-week trial that led to Lynn’s conviction also linked the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua to the archdiocese’s policy of moving suspected predator priests to other parishes, rather than alerting civil authorities. As Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said, “The cover-up went all the way to the top.”
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