Pennsylvania's top court restores conviction of Philadelphia cleric on abuse charge

April 28, 2015

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reinstated the conviction of a top cleric from the Philadelphia archdiocese, overturning the ruling by an appeals court.

Msgr. William Lynn was convicted in 2012 on charges of endangering children. At the time, Msgr. Lynn—who had been vicar for clergy in the Philadelphia archdiocese from 1992 to 2004—was the highest-ranking Catholic clergyman to be jailed for failure to take action on abuse complaints.

However, in December 2013 an appeals court overturned the conviction, ruling that the law under which Msgr. Lynn had been convicted did not, at the time, apply to officials who supervised caregivers. On April 27, the Supreme Court reversed that result, saying that the law existing in the 1990s furnished an adequate basis for the conviction.

Msgr. Lynn has been free on bail, while the government appealed the ruling in his favor. The district attorney could now seek to revoke that bail and return the priest to prison pending another appeal.

 

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Further information:

• Msgr. Lynn’s conviction reinstated by Pa. Supreme Court (Catholic Philly)
• Philadelphia cleric released after child-endangerment conviction is reversed (CWN, 1/6/14)