KANSAS CITY (MO)
dotCommonweal
March 28, 2012
Posted by David Gibson
This is not going to end well, even if Bishop Finn gets off. Coverage of a motion to dismiss, via Reuters:
In a preview to the upcoming trial of Bishop Robert Finn of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, a lawyer for Finn asked Jackson County Circuit Judge John Torrence to dismiss the charge against him because he said there was another Diocese official who should have reported the priest to police.
“Bishop Finn had no statutory duty to report. We believe that this is clear,” said attorney J.R. Hobbs in arguing for Judge Torrence to dismiss the case against Finn. …
Finn’s lawyers argue that Monsignor Robert Murphy was the “designated reporters” so Bp. Finn did not have the technical legal responsibility. Perhaps that argument could work legally, and the bishop has hired a team of the best lawyers in the state. But will that fly in the court of public opinion?
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