Now That You've Asked, Don't Tell

Telling

According to Monsignor William J. Lynn, he asked.

His boss told him not to tell.

Therefore, Msgr. Lynn cannot be guilty of harboring pedophile priests in the Philadelphia archdiocese.

Case closed. Let's all go home. And pray.

The monsignor is going to trial, accused of not telling what he knew. As the man in charge of locating perverts in dog collars, he had plenty of information compiled. What he didn't do was turn his evidence over to the public sector for criminal prosecution. He says his boss wouldn't let him.

Obviously, Msgr. Lynn never thought to take it upon himself to mutiny against authority and accede to the highest authority (that would be God) and protect the children of Philadelphia. For that, he is to be put on trial? For being a coward?

In essence, yes.

Msgr. Lynn says he collected a list of complaints lodged by the faithful against priests within the diocese. In keeping with protocol, he gave the list to his superior, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who had the authority to remove offenders...or turn them over to the police for investigation and prosecution.

The Cardinal, who has since (and conveniently) died, took that list and tore it into bits.

So did the monsignor take it upon himself to over-rule what was clearly wrong? Hell no. He washed his hands of the mess, and returned to his parochial house with a clean conscience. He'd done his bit, followed the rules, tried his best within the framework provided.

Didn't think outside the box.

To do otherwise would be to bring scandal down on the Church, and it was imperative to protect the institution, rather than the individuals within it.

Except, of course, that all that they tried to hide was revealed by victims who dared to come forward.

The attempts at hiding the facts backfired, and you have only to look to Ireland, once the most Catholic of countries, to see that the Church is on the verge of bankruptcy. The faithful have lost faith. The churches lost donations, and nothing runs without money.

By not doing the right thing, Msgr. Lynn faces charges of conspiracy and endangering children. If convicted, he would spend a long, long time in prison.

There was another group of criminals who pleaded their innocence by insisting that they were only following orders. No one bought their excuse, either.