Top Cardinal Says Pope Must Address Bishop Finn "Urgently"

By DeAnn Smith
KCTV
November 14, 2014

http://www.kctv5.com/story/27390987/top-cardinal-says-pope-must-address-bishop-finn-urgently

[with video]

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Bishop Robert Finn, Pope Francis (AP)

According to a top American cardinal, Pope Francis needs to take quick action against Kansas City's bishop for failing to report a pedophile priest.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston, spoke to 60 Minutes' Norah O'Donnell for an interview airing after NFL football on Sunday.

O'Malley is the head of the church's new commission formed to combat child abuse within the Catholic Church worldwide. He said there must be accountability when it comes to bishops who fail to protect children in his diocese.

In May, Pope Francis revealed that three bishops were under investigation for their roles in child abuse sex scandals. It was revealed in September that Kansas Bishop Robert Finn is one of those three.

Finn was found guilty of failing to report to state authorities a priest who took pornographic pictures of little girls and pulled down their clothing to expose their private parts. Finn apologized in 2012 and was placed on two years probation for the misdemeanor conviction.

Some Catholics have hoped that the current pope after taking on the role of the church's leader would remove Finn from his position.

O'Donnell asked O'Malley about Finn during her extended interview. O'Donnell noted the church's "zero tolerance" on sex abuse and that Finn wouldn't be allowed to teach Sunday school in Boston. She asked O'Malley about the message that Finn being in place two years after his misdemeanor conviction sends to Catholics.

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

O'Donnell followed up by asking the cardinal whether that recognition comes from the pontiff.

"From Pope Francis. Uh-huh," the cardinal replied.

Jack Smith, a spokesman for the Catholic Dioceses of Kansas City-St. Joseph, declined comment on Friday. Smith initially had said there was no indication that Finn was under investigation by the Vatican, and then later had to admit that a confidential investigation had been launched.

O'Malley also serves on the pontiff's 9-member Council of Cardinals, which are the pope's closest advisors.

In the interview with 60 Minutes, O'Malley also discusses "a disaster" punishment of American nuns for focusing on social justice and discussing women's role in the modern Church.