PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Wall Street Journal
By PETER LOFTUS
PHILADELPHIA—A defrocked Roman Catholic priest pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that he sexually abused a Philadelphia boy in the 1990s, just days before a landmark priest-abuse trial is set to start here.
Edward Avery was sentenced to up to five years in prison after his guilty plea to charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office.
Two Catholic clergymen are scheduled to go on trial Monday, including Monsignor William Lynn, a former high-ranking official with the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia who is accused of endangering children by covering up abuse allegations against priests he supervised.
The trial will be a landmark in the sexual-abuse scandal that has shaken the Catholic Church over the past decade. Msgr. Lynn would be the highest-ranking member of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy whose case reaches trial on charges related to allegations of a coverup. As secretary for clergy in the Philadelphia diocese from 1992 until 2004, his duties included handling allegations of sex abuse by priests.
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