KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
BY JUDY L. THOMAS
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
08/22/2014
Bishop Robert Finn may be one step closer to completing his probation.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker on Friday released a probation status report for the spiritual leader of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
Baker’s five-page report described the status of each of nine special conditions of Finn’s probation while offering no opinion on whether the two-year probation should be dismissed. Baker did, however, praise the diocese’s ombudsman, Jenifer Valenti, and director of child and youth protection, Carrie Cooper, for helping keep the diocese in compliance with the terms of the probation.
“The State wants to take this opportunity to commend Ms. Cooper and Ms. Valenti for their efforts on behalf of the children of the diocese,” Baker wrote. “Together they have worked tirelessly to implement changes in the culture of the diocese. These changes help to insure that children are protected.”
Jackson County Circuit Judge John Torrence — who convicted Finn on Sept. 6, 2012, of failing to report child abuse suspicions involving the Rev. Shawn Ratigan — will now review the report, then decide whether to dismiss Finn’s probation, which is set to expire on Sept. 5. If the judge dismisses the probation, Finn’s case will become a closed record.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.