Philly Monsignor blames former cardinal in clergy sex abuse case
Catholic Archbishop of Denver Charles Chaput sits for an interview at a news conference on July 20, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Chaput was announced as the Archbishop-designate for the diocese of Philadelphia, one of the country’s largest dioceses in the United States. The church in Philadelphia is still reeling from a sex abuse scandal which resulted in the indictment of four priests and a parochial school teacher.
Monsignor William Lynn, a high-ranking Roman Catholic church official, said Philadelphia's ex-archbishop ordered staff to keep alleged victims of priest sexual abuse in the dark about other accusers, the Associated Press reported.
Lynn took the stand in his trial on Wednesday, saying he had no authority to transfer priests – instead he could only remove those who admitted abusing a minor.
He said he made recommendations to Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who overturned his plan for the Rev. Edward Avery, when the accused priest was returning to ministry after inpatient treatment.
Avery is in prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault.
More from GlobalPost: Philadelphia archdiocese defrocks 5 priests after sex abuse inquiry
He faces the possibility of 28 years in prison if convicted.
Reuters reported the trial, in its ninth week in Common Pleas Court, is a sad reminder of the sex abuse scandals that shook US Catholics a decade ago.
In the United States, over 10,000 allegations of child sex abuse were brought against priests between 1950 and 2002, according to a report commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Lynn, as secretary of the clergy under Bevilacqua, supervised Philadelphia priests for 12 years. With 1.5 million members, the Philadelphia Archdiocese is the sixth largest in the nation.
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