After more than two months of testimony from more than 60 witnesses, arguments in the landmark priest sex-abuse trial came to a close this week.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys were scheduled to begin closing remarks Thursday before the case is turned over to the jury.
The defense rested Tuesday after Monsignor William Lynn, a former high-ranking Archdiocesan official, spent three days testifying in his own defense.
Lynn is accused of child endangerment and conspiracy for allegedly covering up instances of priest sex abuse in his role as secretary of clergy, which he held from 1992-2004 under the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.
The case marks the first time that a Catholic official has been tried for such crimes in connection with the handling of abuse cases.
Lynn is on trial with the Rev. James Brennan, who is accused of sexually abusing a boy in the 1990s. Brennan did not take the stand to defend himself.
The defense sought to demonstrate that Lynn did not have the authority to dismiss or transfer a priest who was accused of abuse, as that power resided with Bevilacqua.
Lynn said he could only personally dismiss priests who admitted abuse and that Bevilacqua maintained a policy that priests only be terminated who were diagnosed as pedophiles. On cross-examination, however, prosecutors pointed to a number of admitted pedophiles who were permitted to remain in active ministry.
Lynn also told the jury that Bevilacqua ordered him to keep complaints under wraps, barring him from telling accusers if other complaints had been made against a priest or of informing a parish if their priest had been accused of abuse.
“I was following the directions I got,” he told the court last week.
Lynn also said he didn’t have the training or experience for the job, which required him to oversee the personnel files of more than 800 priests, and that he never wanted the post.
Defense witnesses who came before Lynn also sought to illustrate that Bevilacqua had the final say in treatment of abuse allegations, with one monsignor testifying that you “don’t say no” to Bevilacqua.
Lynn apologized Tuesday for the handling of the case of former priest Edward Avery, Lynn’s former co-defendant who pleaded guilty to abuse before the trial began. As part of his plea deal, Avery verified that Lynn and other Archdiocesan officials were aware of allegations against him but allowed him to remain in active ministry.
Lynn also acknowledged that he “forgot” to tell law enforcement officials in the 1990s that an accused priest had allegations from at least eight other victims against him.
However, he asserted that he had done “much more” than any other Archdiocesan official in investigating sex-abuse cases.
“I have many victims that told me I helped them,” he said.
He added that he believed he was “helping priests and helping victims as best” he could.
On cross-examination, prosecutors hammered home the point that Lynn failed to independently contact law-enforcement to report any allegations of abuse.
When Lynn left the stand, the defense team called a number of character witnesses who testified on behalf of both Lynn and Brennan.
Prosecutors wrapped up their case last month by showing jurors the much-discussed folder that contained a list of priests who had credible allegations of child sex-abuse against them.
Although Bevilacqua had ordered the list to be shredded, prosecutors contend Lynn, who compiled the list in 1994, kept a copy of the document in a safe, although Lynn said on the stand that other officials placed the list in the safe.
The document was discovered earlier this year, shortly after Bevilacqua’s death.
Lynn testified that he first learned that Bevilacqua had ordered the list shredded this year.
The prosecution team’s litany of witnesses included alleged victims, psychologists, nuns and law-enforcement officials, who were called to paint a picture of a culture of secrecy and collusion within the Archdiocese in regard to abuse allegations.
Once the prosecution rested, Judge Theresa Sarmina dismissed one conspiracy charge Lynn was facing — in connection with his alleged role in covering up Brennan’s abuse — but kept two endangerment charges and another conspiracy charge, stemming from his alleged involvement in the allegations against Avery.
If convicted, Lynn could face up to 21 years in prison.
In late May, the Archdiocese announced that two more priests had been found unsuitable for ministry following investigations into sexual-abuse allegations. Earlier last month, the Archdiocese substantiated abuse complaints against five priests and reinstated three suspended individuals to the priesthood.
Investigations are still ongoing for 17 other priests who have been suspended for alleged abuse.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].