I worked in the mental health system for 30 years. There is zero truth to your mindless claim. The Churcvh paid i billion in damages
2011 grand jury
Report
A third grand jury, in February 2011, accused the archdiocese, still under Rigali, of failing to stop the sexual abuse of children.<a href="
Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>11<span>]</span></a> The report said that up to 37 priests had been credibly accused of sexual abuse or inappropriate behavior toward minors. Unlike the 2003 and 2005 grand juries, the 2011 grand jury handed down five
indictments:
- Reverend Edward Averape – indecent sexual assault
- Reverend Robert Brennan – sexual assault
- Reverend Charles Engelhardt – orally sodomizing and molesting
- Bernard Shero – rape, attempted rape, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse and indecent sexual assault.
- Reverend William Lynn – two counts of endangering the welfare of a child<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>12<span>]</span></a>
Response by archdiocese
Rigali initially said in February 2011 that "there were no active priests with substantiated allegations against them, but six days later, he placed three of the priests, whose activities had been described in detail by the grand jury, on administrative leave. He also hired an outside lawyer, Gina Maisto Smith, a former assistant district attorney, to re-examine all cases involving priests in active ministry and review the procedures employed by the archdiocese."<a href="
Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>13<span>]</span></a>
In March 2011, Rigali invited Catholics to a special
Stations of the Cross penitential service at the
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.<a href="
Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>13<span>]</span></a> The purpose of the service, he wrote in his
Lenten letter, was 'the forgiveness of all sins and reconciliation with God and in the community.'
The 2011 grand jury found that "archdiocesan officials ignored all of Achilles' initial recommendations" ... Rigali hired Achilles again last week to perform the same service," according to one report.
District Attorney R. Seth Williams said he respected Rigali's choice of Smith to lead the case review.<a href="
Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>9<span>]</span></a>
In July 2011,
Pope Benedict XVI accepted Rigali's resignation as archbishop of Philadelphia. At that time, Rigali said that he "...offered an apology 'if I have offended' and 'for any weaknesses on my part'. However, he failed to see any connection between the scandal and the Vatican accepting his resignation. The pope named Archbishop
Charles J. Chaput of the
Archdiocese of Denver to succeed Rigali.<a href="
Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>14<span>]</span></a><a href="
Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>15<span>]</span></a>
Media reaction to report
David J. O'Brien, who teaches Catholic history at the
University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, stated in March 2011,
"The situation in Philadelphia is
Boston reborn.
"<a href="
Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>16<span>]</span></a>
Maureen Dowd in
The New York Times, concluded in March 2011,
In April 2011,
Richard McBrien, writing for the
National Catholic Reporter (NCR) drew attention to Rigali's failure to live up to the
Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, approved in 2002 by the
US Conference of Catholic Bishops. McBrien stated that Rigali had
In July 2011, Robert Huber at Philadelphia magazine published a 7,630-word article which opened with Rigali's question "Is it true?" about the 2011 grand jury report. It moved on to ask "Will the Catholic Church as we know it survive in Philadelphia?" <a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>19<span>]</span></a> The piece concluded with a critique from the archdiocese which began: "Unfortunately for Philadelphia magazine readers looking for honest, in-depth reporting, this piece is an agenda-driven travesty of salacious innuendo masquerading as journalism."<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>19<span>]</span></a>
William Lynn
One of the most prominent sexual abuse cases in the 2010's was that of Monsignor William Lynn, who served as the Secretary of the Clergy for the archdiocese from 1993 to 2004. Lynn was never accused of sexually abusing any children; however, he would be indicted on charges of covering up the sexual abuse crimes of priests that he was supervising. The 2003 grand jury investigation of the archdiocese named Lynn as one of the church officials who ignored or covered up sexual abuse crimes by priests.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>20<span>]</span></a> The follow-up grand jury in 2005 specifically singled out Lynn for his repeated efforts to keep Reverend Robert L. Brennan working in parishes, despite discussions as to whether or not he was a pedophile. Brennan abused multiple boys in four parishes.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>21<span>]</span></a>
In February 2011, Lynn was indicted on two counts on endangering the welfare of a child by the third grand jury investigating the archdiocese. At that time, he was serving as pastor of St. Joseph Church in Downingtown. The indictment stated that Lynn failed to stop three priests and a teacher from raping two boys during the 1990s. The three other priests (Charles Engelhardt, Edward Avery and Robert Brennan) and the teacher (Bernard Shero) were indicted at the same time. Lynn maintained that he was innocent.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>22<span>]</span></a>
The first victim was Danny Gallagher, who was 10-years old-when he claimed to have been first sexually assaulted by Engelhardt, then by Avery and Shero. The second victim was Sean McIlmail, whom Brennan sexually abused when the boy was 14-years-old. Lynn was aware of the allegations against all four men, but did not notify police or their parishes, and worked to cover-up their actions. Before the start of his trial, Avery pleaded guilty in March 2012 to conspiracy and sexually assault; he was sentenced to two and a half to five years in state prison.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>23<span>]</span></a>
Lynn went on trial in late March 2012. The jury heard testimony from McIlmail, Gallagher, and Lynn among others In June, 2012, Lynn was convicted of one of two child endangerment charges, and acquitted of a single count of conspiracy.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>24<span>]</span></a> He was sentenced to three to six years in prison. Criminal charges against Brennan were dropped after McIlmail died of a heroin overdose in 2013.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>25<span>]</span></a> Shero was convicted of multiple charges in 2013 and was sentenced to eight to 16 years in prison.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>26<span>]</span></a>
In December 2013, a three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned Lynn's conviction. The court stated that Lynn was not legally responsible for the abuses committed by priests under his supervision. He was released from prison.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>27<span>]</span></a> In April 2015, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reinstated Lynn's conviction.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>28<span>]</span></a> Lynn returned to prison that month.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>29<span>]</span></a>
In December 2015, the Pennsylvania Superior Court vacated Lynn's conviction and ordered a new trial. Lynn was again released from prison. The court ruled that Lynn's trial judge allowed excessive testimony in the trial about extraneous sexual abuse cases, creating prejudice among the jurors. In July 2016, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court ruling. In August 2016, the court set May 2017 as the date for Lynn's new trial.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>30<span>]</span></a>
In January 2016, Newsweek Magazine obtained a psychiatric report on Gallagher that cast serious doubt on his value as a witness. The report described him as manipulative and self-serving, possibly a indicating a paranoid or passive-aggressive personality. Gallagher admitted that some of his stories were untrue and other stories had details indicating they were lies.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>31<span>]</span></a>
In March 2017, Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright struck down Lynn's motion to stop a new trial due to prosecutorial misconduct. The defense said that the prosecution had brought in retired police detective, Joseph Walsh to work with Gallagher on his testimony. According to defense attorneys, they would have called Walsh to testify about Gallagher's truthfulness in the trial if they had known about him. In 2019, it was reported that Lynn had been suspended from ministry following the 2011 grand jury investigation.
In March 2020, Lynn's second trial was set to begin. Due to concerns about the reliability of Gallagher as a witness, the sole charge was one count of child endangerment.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>32<span>]</span></a> However, due to the rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the trial was delayed.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>33<span>]</span></a> Lynn in December 2022 pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of failing to turn over records to the 2003 grand jury. No further charges or punishment were imposed on Lynn.<a href="Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia - Wikipedia"><span>[</span>34<span>]</span></a>
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