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.
U.S., Canadian church growth trends persist
BY DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR
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Dr. John C. Green Dr. John C. Green Enlarge
Growing churches continue to grow and declining churches continue to decline, according to the latest statistics reported in the 2011 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches.
Virtually all mainline Protestant denominations continue their decades-long drop in membership, while the Catholic Church and most of the larger conservative Protestant bodies are gaining members.
“What the data show is that the trends that have been going on for a long time now continue,” said John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. “Mainline Protestant churches continue to decline in membership, and many of the evangelical churches like the Assemblies of God or other conservative denominations like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, continue to show increases.”
Eileen Lindner, the yearbook’s editor, said in the book that the rate of growth or decline has “generally slowed in comparison to recent years.”
The figures are based on self-reported data collected in 2009 by 227 national church bodies and reported in 2010 to the yearbook, which is published by the New York-based National Council of Churches.
Among the findings in the yearbook that was published this week:
- The Catholic Church, the nation’s largest, reported growth of 0.57 percent to 68,503,456 members.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, grew 1.42 percent to 6,058,907 members.
- The Assemblies of God grew 0.52 percent to 2,914,669 members.
Mainline Protestant churches reporting a drop in membership included the United Methodist Church, down 1.01 percent to 7,774,931 members; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, down 1.96 percent to 4,542,868 members; the Presbyterian Church (USA), down 2.61 percent to 2,770,730 members; the Episcopal Church, down 2.48 percent to 2,006,343 members, and the United Church of Christ, down 2.83 percent to 1,080,199 members.
The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant body, declined 0.42 percent to 16,160,088 members.
Other denominations posting continued growth include Jehovah’s Witnesses, up 2 percent to 1,092,169 members, and the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.), up 1.76 percent to 1,053,642 members.
Does that somehow make it okay for your posts to be full of wild, false assertions that you post as they come to you?
How, in a conclave?
That's funny.
If you're goal is to convert people to the religion of anti-Catholicism, you should try not to be ridiculous and post things semi-believable. Otherwise, people won't take you seriously.
They're leaving to join the booming OPC. / s
No idea. He and I sparred from time to time, but I respected him.
LOL!
Very well said.
However, some people here are allergic to reason and facts when it comes to decrying the “priestcraft” of “Rome.”
How old are you.I just turned 67 and am liking it.I heard you posted you were 83.God bless You.
I suspect the same reason as many others. Constantly dealing irrational hate requires a break for one’s spiritual peace.
I’ve never encountered him, but based on reading older threads, he didn’t seem averse to arguing.
That’s what I assumed.
THere have been intelligent informed, yet passionate discussions on FR. Too often they get sidetracked by bomb throwing.
Many have just given it up. Myself included, likely soon on this thread which is trending down the same tired road.
The only "evident" thing is that you are breaking the rules of the Religion Forum by mind-reading (and that you didn't spell-check.)
Presently, any claim of wrongdoing is treated by the church with the presumed guilt of the accused--guilty until proven innocent.
If your child came to you and said the neighbor next door had raped him, would you want that neighbor reported to the police immediately?
Imagine the ongoing homosexual assault on the Church using accusations to paralyze the Church.
Egads. The poor church. Such a sad and impotent victim.
Apparently, you would be all for that
Again, you're breaking the rules. Why don't you acquaint yourself with them so you won't keep making the same mistake endlessly.
You are not guiltless as far as the rules are concerned, either.
Petronski was last here exactly 13 months ago, and he handed a particular Calvinist her hat-—with her head in it ;-)
You heard wrong. That crack was posted by another Roman Catholic and the comment was pulled by the Religion Moderator for breaking the rules.
In fact, quite a few RC comments have been pulled on this thread. Apparently RC apologists have a difficult time discussing the issues and not making personal comments.
The rules don’t apply to some...
So do you.
lol. No, that isn’t why Petronski is no longer here.
Why don’t you do a search on his name and find out what his last few comments were.
We Catholics are at a disadvantage in this forum. That’s okay, we love a challenge.
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