Conviction reversed in case of clergy abuse cover-up
A post-Christmas court decision that freed a senior Catholic cleric in Philadelphia who had been jailed for shielding an abusive priest was a symbolic setback for victims’ advocates and one with a substantial and discouraging message for their cause: none of the churchmen implicated in cover-ups during the worst decades of abuse is likely ever to face charges.
The June 2012 conviction of Monsignor William Lynn was seen as a landmark verdict because until then no one in the upper levels of the Catholic Church had ever faced a trial or been found guilty of shielding molesters. Lynn, who oversaw clergy and fielded abuse complaints for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004, was sentenced to three to six years on one count of child endangerment.
But Lynn was expected to be released soon from prison after serving 18 months. An appellate panel threw out his conviction.
