Cardinal O'malley: Pope Must Act on Bishop Who Hid Pedophile

By Drew MacKenzie
Newsmax
November 14, 2014

http://www.newsmax.com/US/catholic-church-pedophiles-sex-scandal-Finn/2014/11/14/id/607394/

Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley has called on Pope Francis to "urgently address" the fact that an American bishop heads a Catholic diocese even though he’s been convicted of shielding a pedophile priest.

In an interview on "60 Minutes" to be broadcast this Sunday, O’Malley told correspondent Norah O’Donnell that the Vatican must deal with the leadership problem surrounding Bishop Robert Finn of the Kansas City, Missouri, diocese.

"It’s a question the Holy See needs to address urgently," said O’Malley. "There’s a recognition of that from Pope Francis."

Citing the Catholic Church’s stated "zero tolerance" policy on sex abuse, O’Donnell told O’Malley that Finn "wouldn’t be allowed to teach Sunday school in Boston."

"That’s right," said O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, replied during the rare extended interview on the CBS show.

Finn, who has headed the diocese since 2005, has come under increasing fire following his misdemeanor conviction in 2012 for failing to report suspected child abuse in the case of a then diocesan priest who was producing child pornography.

Former priest Shawn Ratigan, who was suspected of sexually abusing a minor, was found guilty in federal court in 2013 of producing child pornography and sentenced to 50 years in jail.

Two months ago, the Vatican sent Ontario Archbishop Terrence Prendergast to Kansas City to examine Finn’s leadership. Prendergast interviewed a dozen people, and his main question reportedly was: "Do you think [Finn)] is fit to be a leader?"

Earlier this year, after the church had come under increasing attack for not doing enough to prevent sexual abuse by priests, O’Malley was named by Pope Francis as one of eight members of the Vatican’s new Commission for the Protection of Minors, which is aimed at dealing with the sex scandal that has rocked the church.

O’Malley was also chosen by Pope Francis to be on the Council of Cardinals — the pontiff’s closest advisers.