Judge to rule on delaying priest sex trial

A former high-ranking Catholic official accused of hiding Philadelphia alleged priest sex abuse acted as if his job was to shield the abuser, a prosecutor said. Msgr. William Lynn "would have done something about the allegations" if he were "thinking about kids first" when he handled allegations of sexual abuse by priests from 1992 to 2004, Assistant District Attorney Patrick Blessington said at a pretrial court hearing Friday ahead of opening arguments set to begin Monday. Lynn, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of endangering the welfare of children, is the highest-ranking member of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy to have his case reach trial on charges related to coverup allegations. The opening arguments at the state Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, were to begin at 9:30 a.m. EDT, but might be postponed, lawyers said. Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said she would decide Monday morning on a defense request to seat a new jury -- a process that could take weeks -- after a priest Lynn oversaw pleaded guilty last week to charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child. The Rev. Edward Avery, who Pope Benedict XVI defrocked in 2006, was originally to go on trial with Lynn but was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty. He was accused of engaging in oral sex with a 10-year-old altar boy at a Philadelphia parish in the late 1990s. Defense attorneys asked Sarmina, if she refuses to to seat a new jury, to at least question the 12 jurors and 10 alternates individually to ensure they were not unduly influenced by Avery's guilty plea, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Another priest overseen by Lynn, the Rev. James Brennan, is accused of anal rape of a 14-year-old boy in 1996 at the priest's apartment in a Philadelphia suburb. He pleaded not guilty to charges that include rape and sexual assault and is to go on trial alongside Lynn. An additional Philadelphia priest and a former lay teacher at a Catholic school charged with sexually abusing the same boy involved in Avery's case have also pleaded not guilty and are expected to go on trial later this year. Prosecutors said they planned to present evidence Lynn learned in the 1990s of allegations two priests had engaged in inappropriate conduct with minors, but failed to stop them from being assigned to roles involving contact with children or to inform parishioners of the allegations. The two priests later sexually abused two boys in separate incidents, prosecutors allege. Lynn's defense attorneys argue the charges against him are baseless because he wasn't directly responsible for the welfare of the two boys. They allege his superiors were responsible for the coverup and point to recently discovered diocesan files suggesting Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, a former archbishop of Philadelphia who died Jan. 31, ordered shredded documents Lynn prepared that named priests accused of sexual abuse. Defense lawyers say the documents show Lynn wasn't part of a coverup conspiracy. Prosecutors say the documents prove he had prior knowledge of abuse allegations against Avery. Bevilacqua, who led the Philadelphia diocese from 1988 to 2003, wasn't charged. He provided videotaped witness testimony in November that may be played at the trial, The Wall Street Journal reported. Sarmina said she would also rule before the trial opens on a defense request she lift a gag order preventing all parties in the case from publicly commenting on it.