Monsignor Kevin Quirk, a canon lawyer who presided over Brennan’s 2008 church trial, took the stand Monday in the Rev. James Brennan’s criminal priest-abuse trial in Philadelphia.

One victim, now 23, told the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas how Mr. Avery abused him in the sacristy of St. Jerome’s Catholic Church in Northeast Philadelphia in 1998, when he was 10 years old.

The man said that he had already been abused by the Rev. Charles Engelhardt, another priest who is charged with abuse, and that Mr. Avery said he intended to do the same thing with him.

“He said he heard about my sessions with Father Engelhardt and that ours were going to begin soon,” said the man, who was an altar boy.

Jurors were shown a school photograph of the boy at age 10, and of the inside of the church, and the sacristy where the abuse occurred.

On the first of two occasions when Mr. Avery abused him, the priest asked the boy to stay behind after Mass, and took him to a storage room adjoining the sacristy, the court heard.

The witness said the priest turned on music and forced the boy to do a striptease until he was naked. He then sat the boy on his lap, and forced him to perform oral sex and masturbation, and told him that he was doing God’s will.

“ ‘This is what God wants,’ ” the witness said Mr. Avery told him.

The 49-year-old was raised in the outer suburbs, graduated from medical school, got married, and had five children. The 23-year-old from Northeast Philadelphia was kicked out of two high schools, attempted suicide, and spent much of the last decade hooked on heroin and prescription drugs.

But in tense and emotional testimony to a Common Pleas Court jury on Wednesday, both described a bond: Each said he was sexually abused by his parish priest, Edward Avery.

“Today is an off day,” Read said after his sauna. “I’m not sure what I’ll do the rest of the day. It’s an awkward feeling having a day off and not knowing what to do.”

The former Bemidji State University forward definitely earned his day off. On Sunday Read and his teammates advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by eliminating Pittsburgh 5-1 in the sixth game of a rugged and bitter series.

The Flyers are now in a wait-and-see mode as their second-round playoff opponent is yet to be determined. No one knows for sure when the second round will begin but Read said the best guess is that the puck will drop sometime during the weekend.

Until then Read will attend meetings, head to practice when called and “catch up on some housekeeping things that I’ve put off for a month or two.”

The elimination of the Penguins shocked many NHL experts but Read was not among them.

“Going into the series everybody was talking about how Pittsburgh was the best team and would be coming out of the East (for the Stanley Cup finals),” Read said . “We knew we had our hands full and we knew that if we didn’t play our game it would be an easy series for Pittsburgh.

“But we also knew that if we played a great 60 minutes every night we would win the series,” he said.

In the first three games the Flyers accomplished that goal and the result was a 3-0 series lead after 4-3, 8-5 and 8-4 victories.

In the fourth game, however, the Penguins battered Philadelphia 10-3 and when the Penguins posted a 3-2 victory in Game 5 to draw within 3-2 in the series, the race was back on.

But on Sunday the Flyers took advantage of the home ice and officially eliminated Pittsburgh.

“After being up 3-0 in the series and finally winning feels great,” Read said. “We know that every day from here on is going to get harder and harder. But I know it’s going to be fun and I’m going to enjoy it.”

During the regular season Read’s 24 goals were the most among the NHL rookies and he finished with 47 points.

Gabriel Landeskog of Colorado tied with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of Edmonton for the rookie lead in points with 52 while New Jersey center Adam Henrique had 35 assists to lead the rookie cast. He also was third in scoring with 51 points.

Despite his spectacular rookie campaign Read was not nominated for the Calder Cup which goes to the NHL’s top rookie.

Voted the top three by the NHL writers were Landeskog, Nugent-Hopkins and Henrique.

In the playoff series against the Penguins the former Beaver contributed two goals and two assists. He also spent only four minutes in the penalty box in a series that featured 304 penalty minutes between the two teams. In 79 regular season games Read was called for only six minor penalties.

“I learned from coach (Tom) Serratore at Bemidji State how to play between the whistles,” Read said of his relatively few penalties. “In this series there was always something going on after the whistle, especially in Game 3. But I hate sitting in the penalty box so I kept my mouth shut.

“I play physical hockey but I also enjoy being on the ice and sitting on the bench with the guys so I don’t want to be in the penalty box.”

The transition from college to the NHL can be too much for many players to make but Read said that he was well prepared to play at the next level.

“Coach Serratore is a great coach and he taught me all aspects of the game and how to play in each situation,” Read said.

Apr-12

Manufacturing firms responding to the April Business Outlook Survey indicated that regional manufacturing activity ex-panded modestly this month. The survey’s broad indicators for general activity, new orders, and shipments all remained posi-tive but fell slightly from their readings last month. The indicator for current employment, however, showed a notable improvement. Price pressures were only slightly more widespread this month. The survey’s broad indicators of future activity remained at relatively high readings, and firms were more optimistic about their plans for hiring over the next six months.

Indicators Suggest Modest Growth The survey’s broadest measure of manufacturing conditions, the diffusion index of current activity, edged down from a reading of 12.5 in March to 8.5 (see Chart 1). Indexes for new orders and shipments remained positive but were slightly weaker than their March readings. The indexes for new orders and shipments, which decreased about 1 point, remain at relatively low readings. The indexes for current unfilled orders increased 14 points and returned to positive territory this month, suggesting a backlog of unfilled orders. Inventories were also reported on the rise this month, with the inventory index increasing 7 points.

Firms’ responses suggested a notable pickup in levels of employment this month. The current employment index, which has been positive for eight consecutive months, increased 11 points, to its highest reading in 11 months (see Chart 2). Twenty-seven percent of the firms reported an increase in employment; 9 percent reported declines. The average workweek was near steady this month, with 75 percent of the firms surveyed reporting no change in average hours.

Upward Price Pressures Still Evident

Indexes for prices paid and prices received both increased, suggesting that price pressures are only slightly more widespread compared to March. Twenty-seven percent of the firms reported higher prices for inputs this month, compared with 25 percent last month. The prices paid index edged 4 points higher. Firms also reported a rise in prices for their own manufactured goods: More firms reported price increases (17 percent) than reported decreases (8 percent). The prices received index, however, increased just 1 point.

Firms’ Outlook Still Optimistic

The future general activity index increased modestly, from a relatively high reading of 32.9 in March to 33.8 this month (see Chart 1). The indexes for future new orders and shipments remained within 1 point of their previous month’s readings. The future employment index showed notable improvement this month, increasing 6 points and reaching its highest reading in 12 months (see Chart 2). The percentage of firms expecting to increase employment over the next six months (35 percent) was significantly greater than those expecting to decrease employment (7 percent).

Summary The April Business Outlook Survey suggests that the region’s manufacturing sector grew modestly this month. All of the broad indicators remained positive, but a greater share of firms reported adding to their payrolls this month. Higher prices for inputs and firms’ own manufactured goods were only slightly more widespread this month. The overall outlook among the reporting firms remains optimistic, with firms’ future employment plans showing notable improvement this month.

Prosecutors pursuing a child-endangerment case against a church official said the Rev. Thomas J. Smith remained in ministry despite those 2002 accusations. Church officials and an in-house review board didn’t think Smith was seeking sexual gratification when he allegedly had boys undress or get naked with him in a hot tub.

This critical stream of funding will allow the $19 million project to move forward and break ground as early as September 30^th. The co-developers had already raised $6 million from the Commonwealth’s capital development program and $2 million from the City’s Office of Housing and Community Development.

“For years, developing a unique facility in the heart of Philadelphia’s gayborhood where our most vulnerable LGBT elders could live out their golden years was our pie-in-the-sky idea,” dmhFund President Mark Segal said. “But today, we can say for certain, that pie-in-the-sky idea will become a reality.” Segal also underscored that this breakthrough elder housing project, once completed, will comply with all equal housing laws and regulations. This ensures that it will not discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity – nor can it be made exclusive only to qualified LGBT seniors.

The new 6-story building will be located on 13^th Street between Locust and Spruce on land to be purchased by the developers from the City’s Redevelopment Authority. The facility will include 56 one-bedroom units which will be available to seniors aged 62 and over who earn less than 60% of the Philadelphia median income.

There have been many studies that indicate a strong need for affordable housing for the elder LGBT population. A recent Williams Institute study (UCLA, March 2009) found significantly higher rates of poverty for gay men and lesbians over age 65.

“LGBT seniors are often forced back into the closet as they get older and must live in environments that are not accepting of who they are,” said Segal. “The elders of our community have been invisible. With today’s announcement, we will begin to change that in Philadelphia.”

The project enjoys broad-based and bipartisan support from diverse sources including Democratic and Republican elected officials, a united LGBT community, many of the region’s senior citizen organizations, labor unions, and community groups such as the NAACP.

The dmhFund was established in 2004 to fund a variety of programs that foster education about HIV/AIDS, fight prejudice and discrimination, and deliver services to youth, seniors, and diverse constituencies within the LGBT community in the Philadelphia region.

Pennrose is a premier multifamily development and residential property management company founded in 1981. They offer extensive expertise in complex, urban and suburban development having developed and managed more than 11,000 units in eight states.

Coltrane is a saxophonist best known for his recording “A Love Supreme.” He lived in a rowhouse in the Strawberry Mansion neighbourhood from 1952 to 1958.

A non-profit organization now owns the property and is working with a preservation group to rehabilitate it. They are seeking $50,000 for immediate repairs and stabilization.

City officials gathered more than 100 local jazz musicians for a photo at the house on Friday.

Philadelphia claims jazz greats including Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Grover Washington Jr.

The woman said the Rev. James Brennan was like a brother to her, a confidant and spiritual adviser at a vulnerable time when she was caring for her terminally ill mother and raising three young children, so she remained friendly with him even after her son told her “something weird” happened on an overnight trip with the priest.

“Regrettably, I did not,” she replied Wednesday when asked if she cut ties with Brennan after the alleged 1996 molestation, “and I’ll never forgive myself for it.”

Brennan is on trial with Monsignor William Lynn, the first Roman Catholic official in the U.S. charged with endangering children for allegedly shifting priests suspected of molestation from parish to parish without warning anyone of prior sex-abuse complaints. Both have pleaded not guilty.

The Associated Press is not naming the woman because doing so would identify her son, who is an alleged sex abuse victim. The AP generally doesn’t name accusers in abuse cases.

The woman said she remained friendly with Brennan after he left their parish, St. Andrew in the Philadelphia suburb of Newtown, and last spoke with him in 2005 at a time when her family was having financial troubles and her son was “not doing well.” Brennan asked what was going on the young man.

“‘It always comes back to you. It always comes back to you, Jim,’” she said she replied. “And that’s the last time I ever talked to him.”

The accuser, now 30, testified last week that he was molested at age 14 by Brennan and the trauma led to drug addition, mental illness, crime and suicide attempts. He is the only accuser at the trial so far whose allegations fall within the statute of limitations for bringing charges.

The woman said after her son “closed down” when asked what allegedly happened between himself and Brennan, saying only that they slept in a bed together. She and her husband met with Brennan at a hotel to discuss what happened but the priest was short on specifics too.

“He said something inappropriate happened and it will never happen again,” she said. “It was a stalemate, nothing more was said and the meeting ended.”

Defense attorney Bill Brennan, no relation to his client, suggested that what happened was her son wanted to look at pornography online at the priest’s apartment and he wanted the boy to tell his parents. Bill Brennan also asked the woman about financial assistance she received from the archdiocese since her son’s abuse complaint and told the jury that she and her husband had filed for bankruptcy in 2005.

Prosecutors presented evidence earlier Wednesday that a priest facing complaints of abuse was transferred at least eight times, each without a warning to the parish.

The priest, the Rev. Francis Trauger, had denied allegations of abuse for decades before admitting what he did, according to a document in the church’s secret archives from before he was defrocked in 2005. Trauger told an archdiocesan investigator that he never suspected that abuse of children by clergy was widespread until the priest abuse scandal broke in Boston a few years earlier and spread elsewhere.

“He thought he was the only priest involved in this type of behavior,” the investigator wrote. “After the abuses in Boston and beyond surfaced, Trauger realized he was part of a worldwide problem.”

Trauger is not a defendant but his case and others are being used by prosecutors in their case against Lynn, a high-ranking archdiocesan official who was entrusted with investigating abuse complaints against priests.

His attorneys insist that Lynn tried to oust predator priests but his efforts were hindered by his superiors, including then-Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died this year. They also contend that many of the cases being presented by the district attorney’s office took place years before Lynn had the job, which he held from 1992 to 2004.

Also taking the stand Wednesday was Bishop Robert Maginnis, who was asked by prosecutors about a priest under his purview as suburban Montgomery County’s vicar in 1996. That priest was the Rev. Edward DePaoli, who was defrocked in 2005 after decades of complaints.

Maginnis testified that he didn’t remember specifics of a nun’s complaints about DePaoli in 1996. In letters to other church officials at the time, however, he suggested the sister was trying to “stir up some conflict” and “cast doubt on Father DePaoli’s credibility.” The nun was fired from her job at the school after she reported her concerns to Bevilacqua.