Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Philadelphia Catholic Archdiocese and Two Priests

The Legal Intelligencer reports that a wrongful death lawsuit was filed last Wednesday in a Pennsylvania state trial court against the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Monsignor William Lynn and Rev. Robert L. Brennan.  At issue is the death of Sean Patrick McIlmail who last month was found dead in his car from a drug overdose. The suit alleges that McIlmail, who was addicted to drugs, suffered psychologically and emotionally as a result of sexual abuse by Brennan, and that McIlmail developed "various psychological coping mechanisms" in order to deal with the trauma. The suit claims that the Archdiocese and Msgr. Lynn "protected Brennan in his position so as to facilitate his sexual abuse of children...." Criminal charges against Brennan were dropped after McIlmail's death. A jury had previously deadlocked on criminal charges against Brennan.  Lynn was convicted last year of child endangerment for covering up sexual abuse by other priests. (See prior posting.)