KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter
Thomas P. Doyle | May. 5, 2015 Examining the Crisis
The Vatican’s sterile announcement of Bishop Robert Finn’s resignation was a typical but unsuccessful attempt by the Holy See to sanitize the harsh reality of a failed bishop. It was a removal disguised as a resignation. The absolute need for accountability of bishops would have been far better served had Finn been publicly removed rather than offered the thin camouflage of resignation.
The reason for his resignation in the oblique canonical language of the announcement was his inability to continue to fulfill his office because of “another serious reason” (canon 401.2). Much of the media focus was on Finn’s 2012 conviction of failure to report Shawn Ratigan, a Kansas City priest who had child pornography on his laptop. There’s a lot more to it than that. Whether Finn was an overall effective leader was the main point that Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, the Vatican investigator, looked at. One of his worst failures as a leader was the disastrous way he handled clergy sex abuse cases. This is the other chapter of the story.
Between 2005, the year Finn was appointed, and 2015, there have been at least 94 cases filed against the diocese. Some of these involved allegations of serious sexual abuse that goes back decades — abuse covered up and mishandled by Finn’s predecessors. In many cases, Finn was not part of the cover-up because it was all out in the open by the time he arrived. His failure, the extent of which cannot be understated, was in the way he responded to the victims who resorted to the civil courts. And, as an aside, the main reason most victims have gone to the civil courts is because they have been denied any justice, support or deserved compensation by the church’s administration.
Finn pretty much ignored victims. In his 10 years as bishop, he met with two and possibly a couple more, but not to extend pastoral care. His meetings with victims were all part of legal proceedings. From all sources queried, there is no evidence he ever reached out as a caring shepherd to any of the people whose lives had been ravaged by the Kansas City priests.
He did his dirty work through his lawyers. Although some bishops when asked about the toxic antics of their attorneys try to dodge the issue by claiming it was the lawyers and not them, the cold fact is that the bishop hires the lawyers, sees that they get paid, and approves their strategies. Unlike the victims’ attorneys, who are paid on a contingency basis, the church’s lawyers are paid by the hour whether they win or lose. The lawyers for the Kansas City diocese were paid a lot under Finn’s reign.
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