Monsignor William Lynn will not be in court this morning, but his lawyers will.
Lynn is in prison, apparently out in Camp Hill near Harrisburg.
He has been behind bars since he was convicted of a single count of endangering the welfare of a child in the Philadelphia archdiocese sexual abuse. He was acquitted of two other charges. He was subsequently sentenced to serve three to six years in prison.
Monsignor Lynn was my parish priest. I know what he did was wrong. I abhor the way the archdiocese handled this entire sordid saga. It’s clear that the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and other church officials placed the reputation of the church over those of innocent children.
But I still find it hard to understand just what is being accomplished by keeping the 61-year-old Lynn in prison. What am I missing here?
I have heard any number of prosecutors and advocates for children and victims of sexual abuse saying this will send a message to anyone considering doing what the archdiocese did.
Really? Maybe they should explain that to the people at Penn State.
Lynn was sentenced to three to six years in prison. I suppose that is justice.
The weird thing is that I was outraged at Lynn’s actions in this case when I first read the initial grand jury report on sexual abuse by priests. And Lynn was not charged in that report.
But I still find myself wondering what is being accomplished by keeping him in jail.
One thing I think I am sure of. I find it hard to believe that at any time while he was working as secretary of the clergy in the archdiocese did Lynn ever imagine the possibility that he could be criminally charged for the actions he was taking.
Now we know differently.
Comments
As a parent and a catholic, I could not disagree more with your thinking, expressed on your blog, regarding Msgr. Lynn and his prison sentence. Is he the scapegoat and example for the multitude, both living and dead, who could be held accountable for how sexually abusing priests were handled in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia? Maybe. Life's not fair. Just ask any of the children who were abused. By a priest, no less!!
Jail is the kindest punishment that I can think of for Msgr. Lynn. Jail is how our justice system punishes individuals who commit crimes. Msgr. Lynn committed a crime the FIRST of many times that he did not report suspected sexual abuse of a child to the authorities. Was he the only one? No, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be punished. 61, a priest - no matter. He is exactly where he should be. Having different sets of rules for people is what caused this in the first place.
As for Penn State, don't even get me started....