PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Colorado Independent
By John Tomasic
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
As Denver welcomes new Catholic Archbishop Samuel Aquila, more bad fiscal news breaks from the Philadelphia archdiocese now run by former Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput. In a report released Tuesday, the Philadelphia archdiocese revealed it doled out $11 million over the last two years defending priests against criminal charges mostly concerning sexual abuse.
In fact, the $11 million sum is a low-ball figure, according to the Washington Post, because it doesn’t include money pouring into the ongoing trial of Secretary of the Clergy William Lynn, the official accused of covering up accusations of abuse and failing to remove suspect priests from parish ministry over the course of a decade. The archdiocese has retained four private attorneys to defend Lynn.
Less than a year ago, Pope Benedict appointed Chaput to replace embattled Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali, whose name had become synonymous with the spiraling Philadelphia sex abuse scandal. Church watchers were not surprised by the appointment. Chaput made a name for himself in the 1990s for his shrewd work in guarding Denver Church finances at a time when dioceses around the country began making multimillion-dollar payouts to victims of sexual abuse.
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