U.s.: Bishop Convicted for Failing to Report Abusive Priest Refuses to Resign
Vatican Insider
The bishop in question is Robert W. Finn of Kansas City, who has been found guilty of failing to report a paedophile priest Bishops have in the past been removed from their posts for various reasons but never has a bishop refused to leave his post despite being forced to do so because of failing to report acts of paedophilia and despite the fact that just last week Mgr. Scicluna had reiterated that the Pope’s Magisterium on this subject was crystal clear. The case of Bishop Robert W. Finn has baffled members of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City. On 19 May 2011, Shawn Ratigan, a diocesan priest in Kansas City who served St. Patrick’s parish church and the adjoining school, ended up in jail. He had played a key part in organising pro-life marches and Marian pilgrimages. The priest was accused of being possession of pornographic images which investigators revealed were taken within the parish church and school. His superior, Bishop Finn, should have implemented the regulations established in agreement with the Vatican. But he did not. The abuse cases had been reported to the bishop a year prior to this, by numerous parents and by Julie Hess, the school headmistress. Ratigan had even attempted to commit suicide in a garage in 2010 but the complaint about the abuse never reached the right authorities. The priest was removed from the school but a religious body sent him on to the city of Independence in Missouri, where he still had access to a computer and cell phone and even celebrated mass with minors. He was eventually reported, arrested, tried and sentenced in August 2011 but there are still other criminal charges pending against him. Charges were also brought against the bishop last October: Right from the start, Finn has stated that he did not report the abuse “in order to protect Ratigan’s priesthood.” This time, the trial went on for slightly longer and Judge John Torrence pronounced his sentence on 7 September: in all the years of sexual abuse scandals involving the clergy, this was the first time a bishop was sentenced in the United States (one was sentenced in France in 2001). Finn was sentenced to two years’ of probation, then suspended the imposition of the sentence, meaning that if he finishes the probation without incident and completes nine steps as part of his sentence, the bishop’s criminal record will be expunged. “The world needs to know that the same standards apply to all, no matter who you are,” said Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker after the verdict which let the diocese off the hook. Kansas City’s Catholics thought the sentence would be followed by the bishop’s resignation: “We can’t go on as though nothing ever happened; - is the general feeling - the bishop needs to go.” But the civil justice system has done its bit and now only the Pope can intervene. Some want the bishop to resign, as Cardinal Bernard Law had to from the Diocese of Boston in 2002 and Daniel Walsh from the Diocese of Santa Rosa in 2011. The Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles had to leave his post last January after confessing he had fathered two children. “The bishop looks forward to continuing to perform his duties,” said the Diocese’s spokesman Jack Smith in a statement. Meanwhile, The Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, is dealing with so many complaints and court cases that the Diocese has reported a shortage of lawyers specialising in Canon law who can take on these cases. The Diocese has been forced to fire a number of staff and sell Brighton campus as it is facing a financial meltdown. In San Francisco there has also been a first: After being arrested for drink driving, Salvatore Cordileone will be let out on bail from San Diego prison to begin his role as the city’s new bishop on 4 October. His trial is due to take place on 7 October.
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