At the request of prosecutors, a Philadelphia judge has ruled that all but six instances of priests who were reported to have committed sexual abuse or other improprieties can be admitted into the unprecedented trial of a high-ranking church official in charge of human resources for priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
As she read her opinion from the bench Monday, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said that such evidence would be more probative than prejudicial for jurors to determine if Monsignor William Lynn endangered the welfare of two youths whom Lynn’s co-defendants are accused of sexually abusing. Lynn was the archdiocese’s secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004.
