A Philadelphia judge this week ordered a retired cardinal to testify in court next month, in order to determine what he knows about child sex abuse cases of priests in his archdiocese.
Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, 88, is expected to testify in a case involving Monsignor William Lynn, 60, who was Secretary for the Clergy. Fr. Lynn is facing trial on September 12 on child endangerment charges as a result of transferring abusive priests who later abused again.
This case is significant and unique, because it marks the first time that a priest not directly accused of molesting children -- but rather in transferring abusive priests to different locations -- will be tried.
The fact is that until the past year, the Roman Catholic Church -- going all the way back to the Vatican -- had a "secret policy" in which priests who molested children were simply transferred to churches in other locations. This ridiculous modus operandi resulted in a vicious cycle in which hundreds of abusive priests were transferred several times.
The Vatican now claims that it has ended this policy, and that abusive priests are now automatically defrocked. It's about time the Vatican finally implemented this new policy.
Hopefully, Philadelphia's unique court case next month will set a precedent, in which high-level clerics -- who transfer abusive priests to other locations to "remedy" abuse -- will be held accountable for their decisions, and will be subject to punitive treatment with judicial justice.
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