The heat was on Sunday at St. Joseph’s Parish in Downingtown.

Not because of the fallout from the conviction of former pastor Monsignor William Lynn on an child endangerment charge.

The air-conditioning was out.

As I walked into the noon Mass under a blazing sun, I wondered just how hot it was going to be inside.

For more than a year the parish had been going about its business under the cloud of the archdiocese priest child-sex abuse case.

Monsignor Lynn was our pastor. He had been placed on leave after being charged with two counts of endangerment as well as conspiracy.

The jury returned its verdict Friday afternoon. They acquitted Lynn of one endangerment charge and the conspiracy rap. But they convicted him on one count of endangerment. In the process he became the first high-ranking church official in the U.S. to be convicted on charges connected to the abuse of children by priests.

St. Joe’s was at the epicenter of all this.

On Sunday, even before Mass started, Bishop John McIntyre delivered a message to parishioners. He wanted them to know that the archdiocese, in particular new Archbishop Charles Chaput, had not forgotten them. He stressed that he and others downtown knew just how grueling these past months have been on the parish.

They’ve likely been especially grueling for Monsignor Joseph McLoone. He was the longtime pastor at Mother Katharine Drexel in Chester who was tapped by the archdiocese to take over at St. Joe’s.

We shared a Delco connection, as well as a newspaper tie. His brother Pat is managing editor of the Philadelphia Daily News. In an odd way, I kind of connected with monsignor. Both of our places of employment seem to be under siege these days.

In his homily, Monsignor McLoone deftly pointed out several passages from this weekend’s readings, tied to the celebration of the birthday of John the Baptist.

He stressed that much like John the Baptist, we can’t be focused on ourselves, but on each other, and most important Jesus.

It’s as simple as that.

And it’s equally as simple to see how far the archdiocese strayed from that thought in the way they handled this scandal.

They certainly weren’t thinking of the kids. And it would be hard to think they were thinking of Jesus in implementing some of the policies they did. They were thinking of the church, and protecting its reputation.

I wrote about my feelings on the verdict both in my blog over the weekend and in my featured weekly print column. You can read it here.

It’s ironic that the verdicts against Monsignor Lynn and former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky would come down on the same day. I always viewed the actions of many officials in the Penn State case as a carbon copy of what the archdiocese did for so many years.

But unlike those who turned the atmosphere outside that courtroom in Bellefonte, Pa., into something akin to a football pep rally Friday night, I felt nothing but an overwhelming sadness.

And I can admit that Lynn was on my mind all weekend. This morning his attorneys will be in court seeking to get him released from jail on home monitoring. I hope they are successful.

I know that many will disagree, who believe he should remain in prison. It sounds as if the prosecutor would be in that camp, given his statement immediately after the verdict was rendered.

I see absolutely no good that can come from keeping a 61-year-old priest behind bars.

I don’t like what Monsignor Lynn did in his role as secretary of the clergy. I wish to god he had stood up and told his boss, Cardinal Bevilacqua, that “I can’t do this.”

He didn’t. And he’s paid a horrendous price for it.

In the process he’s become something of a scapegoat for all the ills that afflict the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Slowly but surely life in the archdiocese will go on. St. Joseph’s will fade from the news.

I hope the lessons have been learned.

Our editorial today notes that the verdict should be a harbinger for the archdiocese and others who might ignore a clear problem in their midst. In particular when it comes to the sexual abuse of innocent children.

They will no doubt fix the air-conditioning at St. Joe’s this week. Fixing what ails the archdiocese, and the horror inflicted on so many kids for so long will likely take a little longer.