MISSOURI
Kansas City Star
BY MATT CAMPBELL
mcampbell@kcstar.com
Betrayal, regret, healing and forgiveness were key words at a special Service of Lament on Sunday at Kansas City’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for victims and survivors of sexual abuse within the church.
Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. went straight to the point in his homily before a full congregation that included most if not all priests from the nearly 100 parishes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
“I am here to confess, apologize and repent for the sins of those who held a sacred trust in the church and who betrayed that trust,” Johnston declared, saying he was speaking “for the priests and bishops and anyone in the service of the church whose actions or inactions harmed the lives of children entrusted to their care.”
This diocese, like many others, has been rocked by accounts of sexual abuse of children. It has settled multimillion-dollar legal cases involving scores of victims and their families. Former Bishop Robert Finn was charged with a criminal offense for failing to report suspected child sexual abuse. He lost his bishopric.
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