US Bishop Guilty of Not Reporting Child Abuse Refuses to Resign

Press TV
September 9, 2012

http://presstv.com/usdetail/260637.html


Pressure is mounting on the highest ranking U.S. catholic official yet to be convicted of covering up clerical child sex abuse to resign from the church.

Bishop Robert Finn was found guilty Friday of failing to report suspected child sexual abuse to authorities, prompting calls for him to step down or be booted from office.

Advocates for the victims of clerical sex abuse have challenged the Vatican directly, calling on the Pope to step in and dismiss Finn from his position as bishop of the diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph.

But despite a growing campaign to force his ouster, church officials have maintained that he isn't going anywhere - despite the conviction.

"The bishop looks forward to continuing to perform his duties, including carrying out the important obligations placed on him by the court", diocese spokesman Jack Smith said in a statement.

That message comes despite some Roman Catholics pushing for a resignation, with some church members launching a Facebook page titled "Bishop Finn Must Go".

Among the posts was one that listed contact information for the Vatican and urged parishioners to voice their displeasure with Finn at the highest levels.

Pope Benedict XVI alone has authority over bishops. Through the decades-long abuse scandal, only one U.S. bishop has stepped down over his failures to stop abusive clergy: Cardinal Bernard Law, who in 2002 resigned as head of the Archdiocese of Boston. Raw Story

HIGHLIGHTS

Catholic Bishop Robert Finn received two years of probation but that sentence was suspended and will be wiped from his record if he adheres to conditions that include mandatory abuse reporting training, setting aside $10,000 in diocese money for abuse victim counselling, and instructing all diocesan agents to report suspected criminal activity involving minors. irishtimes.com

The charges stemmed from the child pornography case of Rev Shawn Ratigan, in which Finn and other church officials knew about photos on the priest's computer but did not turn him in for six months. irishtimes.com

Finn was also aware of nude photos of children found on Ratigan's laptop computer in December 2010. But still the bishop failed to act. Instead of turning them over to police, Finn sent Ratigan to live at a Missouri convent. Raw Story

FACTS & FIGURES

The Catholic Church has been rocked in recent decades by accusations that it tried to cover up the sexual abuse of children by priests and has paid out billions in settlements to abuse victims, bankrupting several U.S. dioceses. Daily Star

Sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests has been widely reported throughout the world, with the countries of Canada, Ireland, United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Belgium, France, Germany and Australia receiving the most attention. The United States and Ireland are the only countries that conducted nationwide inquiries. digitaljournal.com

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan, 46, was charged last August with six counts of production of child pornography, two counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of attempted production of child pornography. Huffington Post

Finn's conviction comes just months after that of Monsignor William Lynn in Philadelphia. Raw Story

A Pennsylvania man sued the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia on July 25, 2012 for alleged sexual abuse by a priest, marking the 10th civil suit filed against the church since a 2011 grand jury report detailed sexual abuse by clergy in the area. nbcnews.com

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