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.
“A serial predator is now behind bars, thanks to the brave actions of
this young man,” Philadelphia district attorney Seth Williams announced
at a Sept. 26 press conference.
“It 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.”
“The archdiocese is also to be commended for immediately reporting this case to our office,” he added.
Father 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.
The 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.
The young man reported the alleged abuse in January 2013. The
Philadelphia district attorney praised the swift response of the
archdiocese.
“The archdiocese … immediately – and by immediately I mean that same
day – contacted the district attorney’s office of Philadelphia to share
with us this report,” Williams said.
“I 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.”
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia responded to the arrest in a Sept. 26
statement, saying that “since arriving in Philadelphia, Archbishop
Chaput has reinforced the archdiocese’s strong commitment to work with
law enforcement in ensuring justice for victims of sexual assault,”
adding that it reports all allegations of sexual abuse of minors to
authorities.
Fr. 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.
“He has not been permitted to function as a priest anywhere since that time,” the archdiocese noted.
The grand jury report criticized former Archbishop of Philadelphia
Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and other archdiocesan authorities for their
handling of abuse cases.
Monsignor 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.
Williams said that the latest alleged victim implicates the monsignor.
He said Msgr. Lynn ignored reports of Brennan’s previous abuse and
recommended the priest be assigned to Resurrection of Our Lord Parish
despite doctors’ warnings that the priest “exhibited signs of
pedophilia” and that this pattern presented future risk.
Williams said that Pennsylvania’s 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.
The 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.