Priest testifies he reported fellow clergyman after finding a lewd letter written to a boy

    Several Roman Catholic priests have testified in a landmark clergy-abuse case, and one says he found pornography and a lewd letter to a boy in the rectory.

    The priests are prosecution witnesses in the trial of the longtime secretary for clergy in the Philadelphia archdiocese. Monsignor William Lynn is charged with endangering children by allegedly helping the church hide abuse complaints.
    Father Joseph Okonski told jurors Wednesday that he found a box of pornographic magazines and videos in another priest’s room in 1995.

    Okonski says he informed his pastor, who did nothing. But he says he called the pastor’s supervisor after finding the sexually explicit letter.

    The priest left the parish, but another witness says the priest was soon transferred to his rectory, with no limits on his ministry.

    • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

    WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

    Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

    Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal