Lynn gets three to six years

Catholic Monsignor William Lynn "was sentenced on Tuesday to three to six years in prison" for covering up sex abuse, often by transferring predatory priests to unsuspecting parishes, where they continued their predation:

Judge M. Teresa Sarmina told Lynn, 61, the former secretary of the clergy for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, that he protected "monsters in clerical garb who molested children.

Lynn is the highest ranking church official thus far "found criminally liable for child-sex crimes by a priest."

It sets an example by holding an administrator responsible for his involvement. Specifically, the "just following orders" defense was rejected:

Key to Lynn's conviction on June 22, according to the jury foreman, was the monsignor's own testimony that he followed the cardinal's orders to attribute priest's moves to health reasons but never to sex abuse accusations. Testimony also showed Bevilacqua ordered the list of accused priests be destroyed, although a lone copy was found in an archdiocese safe.

Tuesday's sentence sent a message that should be underline for churches of every faith. As the New York Times reported:

“I think this is going to send a very strong signal to every bishop and everybody who worked for a bishop that if they don’t do the right thing, they may go to jail,” said the Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a senior fellow of the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. “They can’t just say ‘the bishop made me do it.’ That’s not going to be an excuse that holds up in court.”