Church and State: Prosecution and Punishment, by Kathryn Casey, The Forbes, October 26, 2011

Church and State: Prosecution and Punishment

By Kathryn Casey
The Forbes
October 26, 2011

http://www.forbes.com/sites/crime/2011/10/26/church-and-state-prosecution-and-punishment/

Bishop Robert Finn

Full disclosure: I'm Catholic. A cradle Catholic, actually. Yet for more than two decades I've felt increasingly at odds with my own church. The source of this chasm is the never-ending sex abuse scandal.

In the beginning, I was dumbfounded by the revelations as the cases unfolded. Not so much that priests had offended. I'm a crime writer. I understand that people aren't always what they seem, and that folks sometimes hide behind religion when they're anything but godly. Yet I didn't understand the cover up. How could those who claim to represent God blatantly enable sexual predators, many of whom have abused children?

I began wondering if the Catholic hierarchy understood the separation between church and state. It occurred to me that they didn't, at least not not when it involved offending priests.

Does the church have the prerogative to forgive and hope for redemption? You bet. But that doesn't mean those in charge don't have a civil duty to report serious allegations. It is, after all, the state's responsibility to prosecute and, when there's a guilty verdict, assess punishment.

I'm not alone. I've met other Catholics like me over the years, those who love their faith yet abhor what church leaders have done. We gather at times and talk, sometimes over carts in the grocery store, at other times out on the streets in front of our houses, shaking our heads and wondering why what is so obvious to us has escaped those who are there to lead us. We understand that it's wrong to hide serious crimes, that sexual abuse has ramifications that damage lives, and that turning a blind eye puts all of us but especially our children at risk.

Off and on the church, either through the pope or the bishops, comes forth and issues a declaration of sorts, saying that they've learned from the mistakes and that they're charting a new course. Each time, I've wanted to believe them, only to be disappointed.

The most recent instance: Two weeks ago on October 14 when the news broke about Bishop Robert Finn. For days after, I walked through the house muttering and considering becoming a Methodist. For those of you who haven't heard, Finn is the Bishop of Kansas City, Missouri, and on that Friday he was charged with failing to report the suspected abuse of a child. Thanks to a grand jury, Finn has the honor of being the first active U.S. bishop to face criminal charges in the scandal.

His sin? According to news articles, by last December Catholic school officials had alerted the diocese and Finn to what they saw as the strange behavior of Rev. Shawn Ratigan with children and that a computer tech had discovered sexually explicit photos of children on the priest's computer, including some of a toddler's exposed genitals. What apparently didn't happen next was what should have happened: no one called the police. Not for a full five months, until this past May.

Since then, Ratigan has been charged with possessing child pornography. Then on the 14th, Finn was charged with a Class-A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison. Both the priest and bishop entered pleas of not guilty. The prosecutor on the case, Jean Peters Baker, has said that despite the charge against the bishop being a misdemeanor, she will pursue the case against Finn vigorously "because it is about protecting children."

Baker is right; this case is about protecting children. The grand jury also got it right: it's time to hold accountable those suspected in covering up the crimes along with the alleged abusers.

As a Catholic, I am hopeful that the charges Finn faces will finally get the message across to those at the top of the church, those making the decisions. They need to understand that this isn't about religion; it's about dangerous sexual predators and horrible crimes. Perhaps now that one of their own is facing a year behind bars the church hierarchy will finally understand that they aren't above the law and that they can and will be subject to prosecution for their actions.