PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times
By Phil Heron, Delaware County Daily Times
POSTED: 12/30/13
Attorneys for Monsignor William Lynn – the only high-ranking church official ever convicted in connection with the burgeoning child sex abuse scandal – will be in court today looking to have their client freed on bail.
I hope he gets it, and he goes free after 18 months behind bars.
That’s not because I condone for a second what I believe he and other archdiocesan officials did. It remains in my view no less horrendous, what amounts to a policy of putting the reputation of the church and problem priests over that of children.
I believe Monsignor Lynn was doing the bidding his job as best he could, implementing the policies put in place by Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who was not charged in the scandal.
I think his actions – and the church’s policies – did in fact endanger the welfare of children. Lynn himself while on the stand during his trial indicated that “doing his best” to protect kids was not enough. But opinions – even moral ones – do not trump the law.
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