[Vision2020] Lying/Stonewalling to Protect God

Art Deco art.deco.studios at gmail.com
Sat Feb 25 09:32:15 PST 2012


Attorneys: Cardinal ordered memo on priests destroyed
By the *CNN Wire Staff*
updated 9:10 PM EST, Fri February 24, 2012

*(CNN)* -- A Philadelphia archdiocese official on trial for allegedly
covering up the sexual abuse of children has asked a court to throw out
charges against him based on a 1994 memo showing Cardinal Anthony
Bevilacqua ordered a list of suspected abusive Catholic priests to be
destroyed.

Attorneys for Monsignor William Lynn asked a Philadelphia court to dismiss
charges of conspiracy and child endangerment based on documents that Lynn
had informed his superiors -- including the cardinal -- that priests in the
archdiocese were assaulting children.

"The recent unexpected and shocking discovery of a March, 1994 memorandum
composed by Monsignor James Molloy, Monsignor Lynn's then-supervisor, on
the topic of this review, clearly reveals that justice demands that all
charges against Monsignor Lynn be dropped," Lynn's attorneys said in a
filing.

As revealed in court papers filed on Friday, Molloy's handwritten memo
dated March 22, 1994, informed Bevilacqua that the secret list of 35
priests had been shredded per his instructions.

"On 3-22-94 at 10:45 AM I shredded, in the presence of Reverend Joseph R.
Cistone, four copies of these lists from the secret archives," Molloy's
memo stated. "The action was taken on the basis of a directive I received
from Cardinal Bevilacqua at the Issues meeting of 3-15-94 ...."

According to the filing, the document was discovered in a locked cabinet in
an archdiocese administrative office. It did not elaborate on how the
document came to light.

Bevilacqua, who died on January 31, testified 10 times before grand juries
in 2003 and 2004. A final grand jury report said it had no doubt that the
cardinal knew about the danger posed by the accused priests and that his
actions endangered thousands of children in the archdiocese.

The grand jury also concluded that Lynn had carried out the cardinal's
policies exactly as the cardinal directed.

"It should not be surprising to learn documents about child abusing priests
were destroyed," said Marci Hamilton, an attorney who has represented
victims in many clergy sex abuse cases, including suits against the
Philadelphia archdiocese. "That is consistent with the pervasive pattern of
secrecy and the rule against scandal."

According to the Philadelphia district attorney, this case represents the
first time that U.S. prosecutors have charged not just the priests who
allegedly committed the abuses, but an official who stands accused of
failing to stop the assaults. Lynn had been responsible from 1992 until
2004 for investigating reports that priests had sexually abused children.

The grand jury alleged that Lynn knowingly allowed dangerous priests to
continue in the ministry in roles in which they had access to children,
according to the district attorney's office.

A gag order imposed by a Philadelphia judge in the case remains in effect,
barring all parties involved in the criminal case from talking to the media.

CNN's George Lerner contributed to this report.

-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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