Urgent Need for Protocol on Abuse

By Owen Boss
Boston Herald
November 14, 2014

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/11/o_malley_urgent_need_for_protocol_on_abuse

Photo by: Nancy Lane/File

An American bishop convicted of shielding a sexually abusive priest is still the head of a Catholic diocese, a fact the Vatican needs to “address urgently,” Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley tells CBS News during an extended “60 Minutes” interview set to air tomorrow night.

“We’re looking at how the church could have protocols on how to respond when a bishop has not been responsible for the protection of children in his diocese,” O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, says of Bishop Robert Finn of the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese.

Finn pleaded guilty more than two years ago to a charge of failing to tell law enforcement one of his priests was suspected of sexually abusing a minor.

“It’s a question the Holy See needs to address urgently ... There’s a recognition of that from Pope Francis,” O’Malley tells CBS.

Finn waited six months to notify police about the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, whose computer contained hundreds of lewd photos of young girls taken in and around churches where he worked. Ratigan was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.

O’Malley acknowledged that under the church’s stated “zero tolerance” policy on sex abuse, Finn wouldn’t even be allowed to teach CCD in Boston.

O’Malley’s comments carry weight because of his close relationship with Pope Francis. He advises the pontiff on church reform as one of eight members of the Council of Cardinals.

Archdiocese spokesman Terrance Donilon said the interview “focuses on the Cardinal’s ministry as archbishop, his background working with immigrants, issues such as clergy sexual abuse and the many opportunities and challenges facing the Church in 2014.”