Priest Sex Abuse Scandal

Jurors Still Weighing Fate of Accused Priests in Philadelphia Clergy Sex Abuse Trial

Monsignor William Lynn is charged with endangering children while serving a secretary for clergy at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and Father James Brennan is charged with molesting a child.

2012/06/19

Expert Says Parents Should Be Prepared When Kids Hear Lurid News Stories

Try as you might to protect them, there is a chance that your child may have heard some of the lurid details of the Jerry Sandusky case. So how do you talk to your children about it?

2012/06/12

Life Intrudes On Philadelphia Jury Weighing Priest Sex Abuse Case

The jury won’t deliberate this Friday. They’ll resume late on Monday, and won’t work next Wednesday or Friday if they have still not reached verdicts by then.

2012/06/07

Jurors in Philadelphia Priest Sex Abuse Trial Ask Questions During Deliberation

Jurors sought clarification on the word “and” specific to legal issues. Attorneys for the defense and prosecution could not agree on a response.

2012/06/04

Monsignor Says He’s Sorry But Blameless For Teen’s Abuse By Pedophile Priest

Msgr. William Lynn maintains he was powerless to change the church’s practices for dealing with predator priests. As he put it at one point, he was “not the cardinal archbishop of Philadelphia.”

2012/05/29

Day 2 Of Cross Examination In Priest Sex Abuse Trial Proves Intense

Monsignor William Lynn walked to lunch with his family surrounding him, and for the first time all morning, his face wasn’t blazing red.

2012/05/24

Philadelphia Monsignor Grilled on Witness Stand At Child Sex Abuse Trial

Prosecutor Patrick Blessington asserted again and again that Monsignor William Lynn has lied — to victims, to parishioners, to nuns and priests, and to the police, all to protect predator priests and to avoid negative publicity and legal action.

2012/05/24

Philadelphia Priest Takes Stand In His Own Defense At Child Sex Abuse Trial

Monsignor William Lynn is charged with endangering minors by allowing priests accused of sexually abusing children to remain in ministry.

2012/05/23

Philadelphia Priest Sex Abuse Trial Moves To Defense Phase

The prosecution has rested in the landmark clergy abuse case that has rocked the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

2012/05/17

(Msgr. William Lynn leaves the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia in March 2012. Credit: Stan Honda/ AFP/ Getty Images)

Monsignor Lynn’s 2004 Testimony Before Grand Jury Presented In Court

With the prosecution winding down in the clergy abuse case, a last segment of testimony by defendant William Lynn before a grand jury back in 2004 was presented Wednesday.

2012/05/16

Key Witness Says Philadelphia Clergy Lied To Hide List of Predator Priests

A longtime lawyer for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia says the late Roman Catholic cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and his top aides lied about shredding a key piece of evidence in the clergy-abuse scandal.

2012/05/14

Prosecutors Say Philadelphia Monsignor Lied To Police During 2001 Sex Abuse Probe

The police interview was related to an allegation of abuse two decades earlier by another priest.

2012/05/08

Private Eye Says He Verified Philadelphia Priest’s Child Abuse at Start of Scandal

Former FBI agent John Rossiter told the jury that Father James Brennan denied the allegations even while admitting there was sex talk, that he had slept in the same bed with the teen, and conceded there could have been unintentional contact while the two slept.

2012/05/07

(Archbishop Charles Chaput. Photo from Archdiocese of Phila. TV)

Some Still Feel Left In The Dark After Archbishop Chaput’s Announcement

There was criticism from those gathered outside the building where Archbishop Chaput made the announcement regarding the priest administrative leave cases.

2012/05/05

Chaput Reveals Status of 8 Priests As Philadelphia Clergy Probe Continues

Archbishop Chaput said the archdiocese is nearly finished with its investigation of the cases of 26 priests who were publicly placed on leave last year.

2012/05/04