MISSOURI
KMBC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has apologized to victims of priest sexual abuse and invited them to a series of prayer services, but some say the move is inadequate and does little to prevent abuse.
The diocese sent letters last week from Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and placed local ads to let those “directly or indirectly affected by any form of sexual abuse” know about the services, which begin Wednesday. Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, has been the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese’s apostolic administrator since the resignation of Bishop Robert Finn.
Finn also issued a public apology in 2008 to abuse victims as part of a $10 million settlement. But last year, when victims asked for a similar apology to be part of a $9.95 million settlement in another case, the diocese refused, The Kansas City Star reported.
Finn resigned last April, three years after he was convicted of failure to report suspected child abuse by a now-imprisoned priest.
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