PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog
Ralph Cipriano
At 11:10 a.m. Wednesday in Courtroom 304 of the Criminal Justice Center, defense lawyer Thomas Bersgstrom stood up and made a surprise announcement.
“Your Honor, the defense calls Msgr. Lynn.”
The monsignor left the defense table, where he had been held hostage the past eight weeks, and walked over to the witness stand to testify in his own defense.
The courtroom was packed with relatives and men in collars, who turned out to display their support for the archdiocese’s former secretary for clergy. Lynn is on trial for conspiracy to endanger the welfare of children by allowing abuser priests to continue in ministry. He is the first Catholic administrator in the country to be charged for allegedly covering up sex abuse of minors by priests.
In three hours on the witness stand, the monsignor appeared relaxed, smiled often, and never raised his voice, even when the prosecutor was tossing fastballs at his head.
He said he stayed on the job as secretary for clergy for 12 years because, “I thought I was helping people.” Lynn asserted that he provided pastoral care to fellow priests, as well as aid and counseling to victims of sex abuse.
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