Priest abuse trial jurors will review church’s ‘secret archives’

Jurors picked to hear a landmark priest sex-abuse case in Philadelphia will pore over two boxes of complaint files long buried in the Catholic church’s “secret archives.”

The secret files from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have been marked “Exhibit One” after Wednesday’s pretrial hearing.
Monsignor William Lynn is the first U.S. church official charged for his oversight of accused priests. He is charged with conspiracy and child-endangerment, and has pleaded not guilty.

Jury selection starts Tuesday. The process could take weeks, given the church’s huge presence in Philadelphia and the trial’s expected four-month duration.

Also Wednesday, Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina refused to step down from the case, denying defense claims of bias.

Their motion was based on her in-court remarks suggesting the church sex-abuse problem was “widespread.”