PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
JOSEPH A. SLOBODZIAN, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: Thursday, November 14, 2013
A month ago, Deborah McIlmail learned that her troubled 26-year-old son, Sean, had died of an accidental drug overdose.
On Wednesday, McIlmail took an unusual first step to memorialize her son’s passing – by filing a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, contending that church officials ignored years of complaints against the Rev. Robert L. Brennan while he molested Sean and more than 20 other boys.
“This is his [Sean’s] legacy,” McIlmail, 57, told reporters at a Center City news conference. “Sean will empower sexual-abuse victims who live in darkness and shame, and consequently bring about the necessary changes for the Catholic Church.”
The suit, filed in Common Pleas Court, also names Brennan and Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former church official responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct by priests.
Lynn, 62, is the former secretary for clergy who was convicted of child endangerment last year and is serving three to six years in prison. According to trial testimony, Lynn took part in transferring Brennan from parish to parish while he repeatedly molested preteen boys.
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