Posted on 03/26/2011 12:59:03 PM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg
At an intensely combative and vitriolic hearing Friday afternoon in a sex-abuse case that has shaken the Philadelphia Archdiocese to its core, a state court judge shocked one priest's defense attorney by disclosing that the government thinks he might be a witness as a former seminarian and could be disqualified from the case. The lawyer, who represents one of three current and former Roman Catholic priests charged with raping boys in their parish, fired back that prosecutors were being "anti-Catholic" and had uttered an "abomination."
Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes told defense attorney Richard DeSipio that she's received information that "might make you, in fact, a witness because of events that occurred while you were a seminarian."
The information "stems from the fact that you attended the seminary with a student who asserts he was abused," Hughes said, adding that DeSipio "may possess factual knowledge about abuse that occurred with that student."
She added that the substance of the claim that DiSipio witnessed something is still unclear. "I just don't know if it's true," Hughes said. "I really don't know if it's true."
Yelling and visibly upset, DeSipio demanded that the government, then and there, identify the source of the allegation. "Let them spill it out right now!" DeSipio demanded.
"How dare they send you a letter about that," DeSipio said, referring to the district attorney's office. "That's an abomination."
Prosecutors said only that part of DeSipio's seminary training overlapped with the tenure of a senior clergyman accused of endangering children by failing to protect them from priests with a known history of abuse.
Monsignor William Lynn, now pastor of St. Joseph Church in Downingtown, Pa., is reportedly the highest-ranking member of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States ever to be charged with child endangerment. Between 1984 and 1992, he served as dean of men at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., according to his biography on St. Joseph's website. As the secretary for clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004, Lynn acted as personnel director for priests. He is accused of ignoring reports of abuse, covering up for them and putting children in danger.
"They are anti-Catholic. I'll say it," DiSipio fumed. "[The district attorney is] attacking me as a Catholic!"
The judge rejected DiSipio's claim. "Attack you? You attacked me! You don't even know me!" Hughes said, referring to a prior argument over the necessity of a preliminary hearing, another hotly contested issue Friday afternoon.
"Mr. DeSipio, I suggest you shut up," Hughes said. "People are coming from out of the woodwork [to provide information to the commonwealth.]"
If the government can prove the allegation is credible in 30 days, DeSipio will be disqualified as the archdiocese's attorney.
"You can change lawyers now, you can change lawyers in 30," the judge warned DeSipio's client, the Rev. James Brennan. "[But] there are some conflicts that are not waivable."
DeSipio argued that the 30-day investigation was "really unfair to Father Brennan," given his mounting legal costs.
Judge Hughes was livid that DeSipio spoke up again. "If you open your mouth one more time I am going to have the sheriff take you out of here," she told DeSipio.
As DeSipio continued to argue, Hughes said she might have him "locked up and held in contempt." Instead she issued a gag order, responding to what she observed as attorneys having "gone to the airways to advocate."
"No more interviews with anyone," the judge ruled.
"Does that include the DA going on Chris Matthews' 'Hardball' and going to the New York Times," defense attorney Michael McGovern asked.
The judge responded affirmatively: "I don't want tweets. I don't want Facebook. I don't want IMs [instant messages]."
Hughes said the court will revisit the gag order on April 15, when defendants are to be arraigned. That date also marks the deadline for the DA to provide the defense with the first batch of discovery, she said.
All but one of the defense attorneys challenged the government's amendment to its case, which added a conspiracy charge that had not explicitly been requested of the grand jury.
"The issue here is that if the DA seeks to amend, it has to be subject to some sort of prima facie determination," the defense argued.
The judge found otherwise, ruling that the commonwealth established "good cause" in its pleadings and that "there is no constitutional right - federal or state - for a preliminary hearing."
It was "a technical error on the commonwealth not to charge conspiracy" originally, Hughes said. "Conspiracy is made," and the defendants will not be afforded a preliminary hearing, she ruled.
Hughes said there was abundant evidence to support the amendment.
"I'm the only person, besides the prosecutors, who has seen every stitch of evidence," she said.
Defense attorney McGovern argued that her admission was precisely the problem.
"Your Honor, this is patently unfair!" McGovern said. "You know the evidence. They know the evidence. I don't know what the evidence is! I haven't seen any!"
The attorney said proceeding to trial without a preliminary hearing was like saying, "Let's have a dart game in a dark room."
"What kind of country is this where we have this?" he shouted.
The judge yelled back, baring her teeth: "You sit down! Sit, sit, sit!"
DeSipio agreed with McGovern that their clients deserve a preliminary hearing, which could allow them to confront their accusers.
"There's no witness. I know that they [the prosecutors] don't like that he's in jail," DeSipio said. "This accuser says there was an erect penis in his buttocks."
"Was it in your buttocks, or was it in your anus," he asked rhetorically. "If that question wasn't asked [of the grand jury], and he didn't specify anus or butt cheeks, I have a right to ask that."
"What you can't do, and what I submit they're trying to do, is say just because we have a grand jury, we have good cause [to by-pass a preliminary hearing]," DeSipio said.
The judge also addressed a potential conflict of interest concerning Monsignor Lynn, who unlike the three current and former priests, faces child endangerment charges - not rape or sexual assault. Plans for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to pay Lynn's legal costs present "a whole array of conflicts that I can't even imagine at this point in time," Hughes said.
"It's real simple," the judge said to Lynn, who was donning his clerical collar, "your master is the person that's putting bread on the table."
"It may be in your best interest to put forth a defense that attacks other people [or the church]," Hughes said.
She told Lynn he was putting himself in the position of receiving "advice from people who are being paid by people whose interests don't necessarily align with yours."
The stakes of this gamble could amount to "14 years of incarceration versus probation," she said.
Lynn, in a calm voice, declined. "Well, I trust these two men." he said, adding that the church hadn't placed any conditions on the payment of his legal costs.
Hughes was incredulous. "You are making a knowing, voluntary and intelligent decision to place yourself in conflict with your attorneys?" she asked.
"I am," Lynn responded, waiving his right to any future appeal based on the argument that his attorneys had a conflict of interest.
"Then we're moving forward," the judge said.
After arraignments and release of the first batch of discovery, which will include grand jury notes and testimony, on April 15, the government will begin putting together a second batch. The government said that batch would take longer to produce, as it will include roughly 10,000 pages of documentation, much of which will need to be redacted.
Hughes said the government must give the defense a specific timeline for the production of the second batch. "There has to be some finality," she said.
In January, a grand jury returned an indictment for rape and sexual assault against one current priest, one defrocked priest and one man who taught at a Catholic school. Monsignor Lynn, the third cleric who worked for the archdiocese as secretary of clergy, is accused of giving known abusers easy access to minors.
Not really - I credit it to an OJ trial level of ineptitude coupled with some blinding vehemence, a cash-cow target that brings ambulance chasers out of the woodwork (to use the judge's term), and the usual pitfalls of human egos mixed with grandstand cases.
I do not deny that there has been sexual abuse in the church, and that in some instances church authorities have tried to silently hide it - and in some cases have consciously looked the other way. I also know that some have nurtured a tolerant atmosphere toward active homosexuality - I had acquaintances in the seminary decades ago who both saw evidence of the lavender mafia in action, sometimes more subtly, sometimes less. But this case will stand on the evidence and the quality (or lack thereof) of its execution. The gravest accusations necessitate the highest standard of proof, or we could all go accusing each other of the most heinous crimes vindictively (for example, watch the acccusations fly in a child custody case).
As always in cases that involve lawyers going after deep pockets, sometimes where there's smoke there's fire, and sometimes there's a buck to be made and a bandwagon of opportunist accusers/victims. Sift the facts and see. There's probably some of both here, but I wonder if we'll be given the chance to make a rational discernment.
Just wondering if you're a priest...
HALN Reverend Young Key, 47 Gold Coast Presbyterian minister. Receives 8 year jail sentence after being found guilty in Brisbane District Court of rape, digital rape and indecent dealing with girl, aged 14 (Queensland, Australia, 2002)
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TRENTON, NJ. - Two adult males who alleged they were sexually abused as teenagers by a former Presbyterian youth minister have no right to sue the local church and its hierarchy because of the state's charitable immunity law, an appeals court has ruled. The men sued the national Presbyterian Church, the church'sSynod of the Northeast, the Presbytery of Elizabeth and the Presbyterian Church at Pluckemin claiming they had been repeatedly sexually abused by their Presbyterian youth minister, Jeffrey Cheseboro. A lower court dismissed the case against the church defendants saying that they were afforded charitable immunity under state law. The appellate panel concurred. (AP 4/5/99)
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Reverend Graeme Alfred, 58 VIC Presbyterian minister. Appears in Melbourne Magistrates Court charged with 28 child sex offences, including 17 counts of indecent assault and 9 of committing unlawful sexual intercourse, against 3 boys, aged 9 to 12 (Victoria, Australia, 1998).
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Rev. Robert Bruce Brigden was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting young girls in his congregation, convicted on 8 counts of lewd molestation & 1 count of rape by instrumentation involving a girl, 7 (Daily Oklahoman_ 6/14/92.)
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PRESBYTERY REMOVES PASTOR. The Pittsburgh Presbytery removed the associate pastor of the prominent East Liberty Presbyterian Church on charges of sexual misconduct. Rev. Howard Eybers, 43 (Pittsburgh Post- Gazette_ 3/7/92.)
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A federal sting operation to find child pornographers/molesters yielded 6 arrests in Philadelphia, including Presbyterian minister JOHN MCVAY, 53. He allegedly solicited sex with 2 girls ages 9 and 12 (Intelligencer-Record, 3/10/89)
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And, my personal favorite, the nudesbyterian. Thankfully, there was no molestation involved in this case, so it falls into the merely humorous category.
THE NUDE PASTOR- Rev. Bruce Rentz, found guilty of indecent exposure after a state trooper saw him jogging naked and chased him to his home, has resigned as minister from Greenbush Presbyterian Church. (Union News_ 5/14/92)
McGovern should read the Grand Jury Report. I tried to read through it, but it was too sexually graphic.
Prove it GC.
Yes, there are perverts in every walk of life, including Protestant pastors and school teachers. That is not the issue.
The crucial factor is that these rapists must be turned over to authorities and prosecuted.
They cannot just be sent to a psychologist for counseling or transferred to another church or school.
Each case has to be investigated and referred to authorities.
Thanks again for proving my point.
37 priests suspended for sexually molesting children in one city in one diocese on one day.
I should have been more clear in my last post.
My argument is over whether “Rome” prefers having homosexuals in the priesthood over heterosexuals.
I only posted to Salvation because she was here, and Ex-Wretch because I didn't recognize him as one of the evil. He seemed a true Christian and so rated a response.
By posting to people with no integrity, what do you hope to gain? That they will stop lying? Stop hating? Let it go man, say a prayer for them that they turn to Christ before it is too late, and move on.
Christ be with you and your family and have a good Lent.
The MSM is always going to highlight hit pieces on Catholics. And they’re also going to ignore loads of dirt on mainline Protestant denominations, because those churches carry water for the left. Just take a look at the membership list of the NCC.
54% of Roman Catholics voted for Obama while 45% of Protestants voted for him.
The "conservative" Roman Catholic church is a myth.
Here, perhaps, is a sobering thought for you; how do you know?
A better question is why don't you know?
Jesuit Priests, Sex Abuse Victims Announce Settlement
A clergy organization representing Jesuit priests in Western states has reached a $166.1 million agreement to settle approximately 524 claims of clergy sex abuse. The settlement is one of the largest in U.S. history relating to the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal.
Actually, $166 million in settlements is small potatoes to the $700 million paid out three years ago on one day in one city, Los Angeles.
For anyone who can stomach it...
And...
The anger in the 2011 Grand Jury report is in part due to the fact that nothing was done to curtail these priests after the release of the 2005 Grand Jury report.
How any Roman Catholic parent can believe their children are being shepherded by Godly men like this is beyond understanding.
The man with the cat pictures has showed up.
Cat pictures are usually posted by girls, Mark.
The Mainline Protestant churches have been taken over by Democrats at the highest levels. They are pro-choice and in favor of gay marriage and gay pastors. Most of them even get abortion coverage in their medical plans.
The liberal media has no problem with the Mainline churches and often attends them because they agree with their policies.
Conservatives have left those denominations in huge numbers and have gravitated to the evangelical denominations, which are pro-life and against gay marriage and gay pastors.
The mainstream media despises evangelicals, mocks them, and revels in the misery of any pastor who has been arrested or disgraced.
It is a good thing when pastors who are sexual predators in any denomination are prosecuted.
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