Former priest enters not guilty plea

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Former priest, others enter not guilty pleas

By PATTI MENGERS pmengers@delcotimes.com

Four men including a former priest who now resides in Delaware County have pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing boys in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Edward V. Avery, 68, who was last reported as living at a private residence in the Havertown section of Haverford, is charged with sexually assaulting a fifth-grade altar boy at St. Jerome parish in Philadelphia in 1999. The Rev. Charles Engelhardt, 64, and Bernard Shero, a 48-year-old former Catholic school lay teacher, are charged with assaulting the same boy. The Rev. James Brennan, 47, is charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in an apartment during a leave of absence from his ministry in 1996. The Rev. Monsignor William Lynn, the highest-ranking U.S. Roman Catholic Church official ever charged with endangering the welfare of children, has also pleaded not guilty. All pleaded in Philadelphia court on Friday except Brennan who was not in court Friday and who pleaded not guilty earlier. The next court date is set for June 6. Members of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, also known as SNAP, said they were not surprised that the suspects have pleaded not guilty. “Criminal charges are not convictions. Church officials often hire the best defense attorneys available,” said SNAP Outreach Director Barbara Dorris. “Now more than ever it is important for anyone who has seen or suspected misdeeds by these men to contact law enforcement.” Philadelphia Judge Rene Cardwell-Hughes has imposed a gag order barring all parties involved from publicly speaking about the case. The Feb. 10 arrests of the five men were the result of a grand jury investigation on clerical sexual abuse launched by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams. Since Feb. 17, 26 additional priests named in the grand jury report have been placed on administrative leave while archdiocesan officials review complaints against them ranging from sexual abuse of minors to “boundary issues.” At least nine have ties to Delaware County including two pastors and a parochial vicar. Lynn, 60, served as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004 under former Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and was responsible for investigating clerical sexual abuse. He was formerly parochial vicar at St. Katharine of Siena parish in the Wayne section of Radnor. Lynn was most recently pastor of St. Joseph parish in Downingtown, Chester County before being suspended. Avery, who formerly served as assistant pastor of St. Bernadette Church in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Chester, was defrocked by the Vatican in 2006 because of previous sexual abuse allegations. Brennan, who was on the faculty of Cardinal O’Hara High School in Marple from 1991 to 1996, has been on a leave of absence and restricted from performing priestly duties since Jan. 16, 2006. He was living in a private residence in Linfield, Montgomery County, being supervised by an archdiocesan monitor and awaiting results of a canonical trial, when he surrendered to authorities. He was in residence at St. Mary Magdalen parish in Upper Providence from June 1995 to April 1996 and at Divine Providence Village, a facility for developmentally disabled girls and women in Marple, from June 1991 to June 1995. Engelhardt, a member of the Oblates of St. Francis DeSales, was last reported to be living at an Oblates’ residence in Wyndmoor, Montgomery County. Shero, a layman, was removed from his teaching position at St. Thomas Aquinas School in Bucks County Jan. 30, 2009 when archdiocesan officials received allegations that he sexually abused the same student allegedly abused by Engelhardt and Avery. He is a resident of Bristol, Bucks County. This is the second Philadelphia grand jury investigation on clerical sexual abuse. The first one, launched by former Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham and completed in 2005, revealed that 63 priests allegedly abused children as far back as the 1940s, 43 of whom had ties with Delaware County. None could be criminally charged because Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations had expired by the time civil authorities became aware of the alleged abuse. The statute was expanded in 2006 by the state legislature that is currently considering a proposal to eliminate it. CNN contributed to this report. Read more at delcotimes.com

 

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