Philly Monsignor Admits Lying to Abuse Victim: Report

The Philadelphia monsignor, who is charged in the recent sex-abuse scandal for allegedly transferring predator priests to unsuspecting parishes, told a grand jury that he lied to a man who complained he'd been raped by a priest.

Monsignor William J. Lynn told a Northeast Philadelphia man, who accused the Rev. Stanley Gana of repeatedly raping him when he was a teenager, that Gana had denied the allegations, when in fact the priest had admitted the assaults, according to court documents obtained by the Inquirer.

"I just thought he wanted money," Lynn told a grand jury, reports the Inquirer.

Monsignor William Lynn told a grand jury he lied to the boy because he believed the priest's admission was a confidential matter between the priest and his doctor, reports the Inquirer.

This was not the only case that Lynn handled that was laid out in the 2,000-plus pages of grand jury testimony. It came to light after the District Attorney filed it as part of his conspiracy case against Lynn and four others--two priests, an ex-priest and a former teacher, who are charged in the same case with raping boys

The Inquirer reports Lynn told a previous grand jury he also opted not to pursue complaints against priests if they were reported by parents of an alleged victim instead of the child.