The judge presiding over the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex-abuse case ruled Friday that the archdiocese has its own attorney-client privilege regarding 12 communications between outside counsel hired by the archdiocese and the former secretary for clergy charged with endangering the welfare of children allegedly abused by priests he supervised.
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said during the last pretrial hearing before the trial slated to open today that she does not see how defendant Monsignor William J. Lynn’s attorneys can establish that he sought the counsel of C. Clark Hodgson Jr. and John P. O’Dea of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young personally and separately from the interests of the archdiocese.
