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.
For the fourth time, what is the "wild claim" you're disputing?
For crying out loud, please bring this dispute to a merciful end. I don’t think it’s becoming for or to anyone.
lol. Ping to 1,139.
You aren’t being accused of anything, I am. And it’s not easy for some to come forth. Sorry, it’s is disturbing the thread but it could be the reason this all started.
ROFLOL!
Correct.
What we see on the Religion Forum is that one man's fact is another man's irritation. You can't please everyone. Some people on this forum see ANY statement of Biblcial truth as "anti-_____ bias."
We're called to study and rightly divide the word of God.
But the bottom line is what the Religion Moderator wrote in POST 342...
"There is no anti-Catholic bias on the Religion Forum. If there were, there would not be more pro-Catholic RF articles than pro-any other belief.
"Posters who are uncomfortable when their beliefs, deities or religious authorities are condemned or ridiculed should clearly IGNORE "open" RF threads and instead post to threads labeled "caucus" "ecumenical" "prayer" or 'devotional.'"
The fact that some people cannot or will not abide by the rules does not bring shame on anyone other than those posters who can't comment without "making it personal."
Round and round and round. Apparently they think that dumb ploy goes unnoticed.
For the most part, that's all they've got.
here's proof
The OPC (OrthodoPresbyterian C) and PCA (Presbyterian C in America) attack on American Christians
OPC/PCA preaching hatred against Pentecostals from the OPC doctrinal website {the OPC} sharply contradicts the view popularized today by the neo-Pentecostal movement. In essence this view would have us believe that we can have the same charismatic gifts that we read about in the age of the Apostles - such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, and healing - today.This is a very serious error (of the Pentecostals). In essence it is a result of a failure to grasp the Biblical teaching concerning the history of salvation.
OPC/PCA preaching hatred against Lutherans "The liberal church teaching of free will has infected the Lutherans, too, in contradiction to what Martin Luther taught from Scripture" by an OPC poster: OPC/PCA preaching hatred against Pentecostals and Methodists: From the opc doctrinal website: . Are Arminian (Methodists, Pentecostals, Baptist etc) preachers heretics? yes"we see the inherent Satanism of Free-Will Arminianism" (accusing Methodists, Pentecostals, etc. who disagree with Calvin of preaching a gospel of Satan
. Is Arminianism (Methodism, Pentecostalism, Baptists) a damnable heresy? Yes.
. the teachings of Arminianism are contrary to Scripture, they are manifestly false. They are serious perversions of the gospel of Jesus Christ
OPC/PCA preaching hatred against Methodists "John Wesley preached Universal Infant Damnation for unbaptized infants -- which is unsurprising, because Wesley preached the Gospel of Satan" by a PCA poster OPC/PCA preaching hatred against Judaism Acording to the OPC "Christians should not celebrate the Seder or other Jewish festivals. " OPC/PCA preaching hatred against Pentecostals and Catholics together as targets of the OPC/PCA message of hate The PCA view: "This goes to what the Reformers taught; that is the "enthusiasts" or what we call today
Pentecostals, are really no different from the Roman Catholics."OPC/PCA preaching hatred and evil against Christians martyred by Moslems in the Middle East This man followed the wrong teachings of Rome and we know what happens to such people. Heaven is for the elect. preaching hatred against the Eastern Orthodox Insinuating that the E. Orthodox are not helping others in Japan preaching hatred against Adventists The Adventists are a cult that is as dangerous as the Jehovahs Witnesses or the Mormons revealing their true beliefs that Christianity means only Calvinism and only their particular brand of Calvinism
- OPC poster: "That's Christianity. That's Calvinism"
- OPC " The problem with non-denominational churches is that there's nothing to stop the congregation from deciding to become Mormon or Unitarian, etc.
There is something to be said for a diagonal form of church structuring, like the Presbyterians -- organized by a representative group of congregants. This actually strengthens the Christian imperative rather than dilutes it as so many non-denominational churches tend to do."- "Calvinism is the Gospel and to teach Calvinism is in fact to preach the Gospel."
Arthur C. Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace, 1979.- "Calvinism is evangelicalism in its purest and only stable expression."
B.B. Warfield, Calvin and Augustine, ed. Samuel G. Craig, 1956- "We believe with the great Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, that Calvinism is just another name for Christianity."
John H. Gerstner, Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Critique of Dispensationalism, 1991.
- That many of the unborn children (victims of baby-killers etc) will still go to hell, condemned by the OPC/PCA version of God
- that they are alone among the upper caste of people who will be saved irrespective of their lives
- that those who are not PCA/OPC are not elect and are damnable heretics (this includes all Pentecostals, Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, Orientals, Mennonites, etc.)
- A man was damned or saved; and it was not of his doing. The recognition of evil as equal with good, which rapidly becomes the worship of evil (the great Manichean heresy, which has roots as old as mankind; the permanent motive of Fear). They ascribe to God all our suffering, and, for most of us, necessary and eternal suffering.
- They preach a syncretic mixed form of Hinduism and Christianity. They say that The Father predestinated the plan and the Son and Spirit agreed to the plan . God the Father is "conferencing" with the Son and the Spirit. As three seperate Gods. This is the OPC/PCA disclosure of their polytheism
- They add to this by saying "There is no warrant in the scriptures for prayers to anyone other than God the Father. He is God and He is called Lord and Jesus, Paul and John address prayers solely to Him."
- They preach exlusively from the writings of Paul and of Calvin, equating them and now there seems to be an elevation of Gresham Machen especially in the OPC by insinuations that St. Paul was senile
The problem with non-denominational churches is that there's nothing to stop the congregation from deciding to become Mormon or Unitarian, etc.
There is something to be said for a diagonal form of church structuring, like the Presbyterians -- organized by a representative group of congregants. This actually strengthens the Christian imperative rather than dilutes it as so many non-denominational churches tend to do.
Ohh-- so do you really think that Daniel, Metmom and Quix's groups are headed towards Mormonism or Unitarianism?
Nice try to divert the conversation, when we know for a fact that you guys from the PCA/OPC hate pentecostals, methodists (calling them damnable heretics and preachers of a satanic bible), Lutherans, Baptists etc, not to mention Unitarians.
Your cult, the OPC is just 20,000 odd -- a larger version of the Westboro BC and yet your group claims to speak for all Protestants --> even though your group, the OPC despises all who are not in the OPC -- schizophrenic is the word
Most post fake threads pretending to be conservative while covering up their anti-Catholic, anti-Christian agenda. They have rejected Christ and now just do the work of the leftists in attacking Christianity and fomenting discord.
Isn't that what the OPC preaches, Dr. E?
Dr E -- the posts from the OPC cultists remind me of Hank-kerchief's
Hank-kerchief who started all threads to set up Catholics versus Protestants and then anti-Pentecostals, anti-Methodist etc. posts
. What was strange was even after it was revealed that he was a leftist writer who writes anti-Christian pieces, the familiar band of anti-Catholics (like the thread poster here) still stuck on the thread.
The fact is that this group of rabid anti-Catholics (who keep posting threads attacking Catholicism and keep trying to incite CAtholic-Protestant fights) are just aiming to hurt Christianity as a whole
The sad truth is that many of those who go about attacking Catholic and other freepers are closet leftists. Check out the posts by a poster called HankKerchief. He was later exposed as an anti-Christian leftist who had been on FR for years.
We have other leftists here who only post threads like this one or similar ones (check out the posts attacking Pentecostals or Methodists or Adventists) -- they just want to:
Whether right or wrong I can’t say but since the two agree to a large extent they’re both one or the other in the same way.
Anyhow,...... that’s the two that other sites seem to often quote so no use in repeating them.
| 2009 membership | 2010 membership | Lost | Gained | |
| PCUSA | 2,934,952 | 2,844,952 | 90,000 | |
| PCA | 335,000 | 340,000 | 5,500 | |
| OPC | 21,123 | 21,530 | 407 | |
| Disappearing Presbyerians | 84,100 |
Take this with the fact that the OPC preaches hatred against Pentecostals, Methodists, Jews, Lutherans, Baptists, Catholics, Orthodox, Adventists etc. and that the OPC is heading for it's third and final split, the indicators are that this cult is headed for it's disintegration before it completes 100 years (in 2032)
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