New Lawsuit Against Catholic Church in Philadelphia - Prosecutor Looking At Former Archbishop's Role

The Catholic Church sex abuse scandal in Philadelphia continues to mushroom as a new law suit is about to be filed and the county prosecutor announced that it will undertake a review of all abuse cases reported during former Archbishop, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua's tenure. Although it would be wonderful to see Bevilacqua (pictured at left) indicted, sadly due to his age and health issues such is unlikely to happen. Nothing would be more appropriate than to see some members of the high Church hierarchy behind bars for what in any other situation would be easily classified as a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice. Failing such an indictment, it is important that all the ugly details possible come out so that practicing Catholics are forced to face the fact that they are financially underwriting a criminal enterprise. The Philadelphia Inquirer looks at the prosecutor's announced review plan. Here are some highlights:
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Two grand juries lambasted him and all but branded him a criminal. One said Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua had "excused and enabled" sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, then launched a massive cover-up, delaying public revelation of the crimes until it was too late to prosecute.
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The second said sexual abuse was "known, tolerated, and hidden by high church officials, up to and including the cardinal himself." But Bevilacqua will likely answer to none of it. At 87, the cardinal is infirm and suffering from cancer and dementia, his doctors say.
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Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said Friday that in response to the Philadelphia grand jury's latest findings, his office had begun a review of all abuse cases reported during Bevilacqua's Pittsburgh tenure. He was head of that diocese from 1983 to 1988.
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Last month, a victims group released documents showing that Bevilacqua, while an auxiliary bishop in Brooklyn in the early 1980s, recommended that a chronically abusive priest be sent to another diocese. There, the priest abused two more children.
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Msgr. William J. Lynn, charged with child endangerment after the recent grand jury concluded that he shielded abusive priests, was simply doing his boss' bidding, the panel said. "Msgr. Lynn was carrying out the cardinal's policies exactly as the cardinal directed," it said.
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Both grand juries said Bevilacqua was obsessed with the church's public image. To avoid scandal, they said, he took pains to ensure that potentially damaging information was kept secret. When one priest was reassigned because of improper behavior with boys, for example, parishioners were told to pray for him because he had Lyme disease.
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The first grand-jury report, which shocked Catholics and others across the region, also found that: When a seminarian told church officials that a Philadelphia priest had abused him as a teen, they worried he might sue. Bevilacqua then ordered an investigation of the seminarian. The priest, later found to have abused "countless" boys, remained in ministry for a decade. Bevilacqua retained and promoted a priest who had molested more than a dozen girls despite complaints against him that included an eyewitness account from another priest.
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I sincerely hope that the prosecutor's office will expose to the bright light of day every foul and morally bankrupt decision of Bevilacqua to sacrifice the lives of children to sexual predators. Meanwhile, CNN has these details on a new lawsuit to be filed against the archdiocese:
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"The Lawsuit will allege that Archdiocese officials conspired to endanger the safety of the Plaintiff when they actively concealed their knowledge of (a) priest's previous offenses, lied to parishioners, and created a sham sexual abuse victim assistance program for the Archdiocese," according to a news release announcing the lawsuit.
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[T]he lawsuit names seven parties in the complaint, including the archdiocese; Cardinal Justin Rigali, the current archbishop; Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, a former archbishop; and Monsignor William Lynn, a former top aide to Bevilacqua. The suit accuses the defendants of conspiracy to endanger children, fraudulent concealment and actual fraud.
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The documents obtained by the victims' organization "essentially show that from the earliest days of his career, Bevilacqua has ignored and concealed child sex crimes," said David Clohessy, the group's national director.
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From 1992 until 2004, Lynn was responsible for investigating reports that priests had sexually abused children, the district attorney's office said. The grand jury found that Lynn, 60, endangered children by knowingly allowing dangerous priests to continue in the ministry in roles in which they had access to kids.
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The Church hierarchy is a veritable cesspool, yet practicing Catholic continue to give money to their parishes, a portion of which supports the high clerics who protect and enable child rapists. Rather than worry about same sex marriage, Maggie Gallagher ought to be spending her time demanding a thorough house cleaning in her Church. The fact that she doesn't do so speaks volumes about her own moral bankruptcy.