{"id":4381,"date":"2013-09-27T16:26:00","date_gmt":"2013-09-27T16:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/priests-arrest-shows-philadelphia-reforms-attorney-says\/"},"modified":"2013-09-27T16:26:00","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T16:26:00","slug":"priests-arrest-shows-philadelphia-reforms-attorney-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/09\/priests-arrest-shows-philadelphia-reforms-attorney-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Priest’s arrest shows Philadelphia reforms, attorney says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Philadelphia, Pa., Sep 27, 2013 \/ 10:26 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The Philadelphia archdiocese drew praise for its swift reporting of an inactive priest to authorities after a young man said that he had been abused during his time as an altar boy between 1998 and 2001.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cA serial predator is now behind bars, thanks to the brave actions of this young man,\u201d Philadelphia district attorney Seth Williams announced at a Sept. 26 press conference.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt takes tremendous courage for any sexual assault victim, especially young boys, to come forward and report the horrors they endured, particularly if it happened over the course of several years.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t\u201cThe archdiocese is also to be commended for immediately reporting this case to our office,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\tFather Robert L. Brennan, who is currently undergoing the canonical process of laicization and was removed from ministry in 2005, has been charged with several sexual offenses against a boy who served at Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in northeast Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\tThe alleged abuse started when the boy was 11 and continued until he was 14. When the abuse reportedly began, Fr. Brennan was a 60-year-old assistant priest at the parish.<\/p>\n

\tThe young man reported the alleged abuse in January 2013. The Philadelphia district attorney praised the swift response of the archdiocese.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe archdiocese \u2026 immediately \u2013 and by immediately I mean that same day \u2013 contacted the district attorney\u2019s office of Philadelphia to share with us this report,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI think it must be recognized that this is a sea change over previous protocol and practices of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I spoke with Archbishop (Charles) Chaput this morning, thanking him for the internal reforms that this case demonstrates.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Archdiocese of Philadelphia responded to the arrest in a Sept. 26 statement, saying that \u201csince arriving in Philadelphia, Archbishop Chaput has reinforced the archdiocese\u2019s strong commitment to work with law enforcement in ensuring justice for victims of sexual assault,\u201d adding that it reports all allegations of sexual abuse of minors to authorities.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tFr. Brennan was arrested in Maryland and will undergo an extradition hearing. He has been the subject of numerous sexual abuse allegations, detailed in a 2005 grand jury report, but his previous alleged victims had come forward after the statute of limitations on the charges had expired.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHe has not been permitted to function as a priest anywhere since that time,\u201d the archdiocese noted.<\/p>\n

\tThe grand jury report criticized former Archbishop of Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and other archdiocesan authorities for their handling of abuse cases.<\/p>\n

\tMonsignor William J. Lynn, the former secretary of clergy under Cardinal Bevilacqua, was convicted in 2012 on one count of child endangerment for failing to protect children from abusive priests.<\/p>\n

\tWilliams said that the latest alleged victim implicates the monsignor. He said Msgr. Lynn ignored reports of Brennan\u2019s previous abuse and recommended the priest be assigned to Resurrection of Our Lord Parish despite doctors\u2019 warnings that the priest \u201cexhibited signs of pedophilia\u201d and that this pattern presented future risk.<\/p>\n

\tWilliams said that Pennsylvania\u2019s child endangerment statute would have applied to Msgr. Lynn and to other archdiocesan officials in this case, except that the alleged victim's age was three months past the legal statute of limitations.<\/p>\n

\tThe Archdiocese of Philadelphia encouraged those with information about Fr. Brennan to report it to the district attorney. The archdiocese offers support for sex abuse victims through its Victim Assistance Office.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philadelphia, Pa., Sep 27, 2013 \/ 10:26 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Philadelphia archdiocese drew praise for its swift reporting of an inactive priest to authorities after a young man said that he had been abused during his time as an altar boy between 19…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nPriest's arrest shows Philadelphia reforms, attorney says<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Philadelphia, Pa., Sep 27, 2013 \/ 10:26 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Philadelphia archdiocese drew praise for its swift reporting of an inactive priest to authorities after a young man said that he had been abused during his time as an altar boy between 19...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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