Accused in grand jury report of covering up abuse

Former Bishop James C. Timlin, the former bishop of the Scranton Diocese who was ensarled in the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, died Sunday at 95.

Timlin, a Scranton native, was ordained a bishop on Sept. 21, 1976, and on June 7, 1984, became the first priest born within the Diocese of Scranton to serve as its bishop.

Timlin served as the eighth Bishop of the Scranton Dioceses until Sept. 30, 2003, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.

He went on to serve as administrator of Saint Joseph Church in Wilkes-Barre in 2004, before assuming new duties as rector of Villa Saint Joseph, the home for retired priests of the diocese in Dunmore.

Timlin was beloved by parishioners for much of his tenure as bishop, but his legacy upended in August 2018 when a statewide grand jury…