KANSAS CITY (MO)
Morning Sentinel
BY BILL DRAPER, Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Jackson County judge said Tuesday he hopes to rule on motions by the end of next week in a misdemeanor case involving the highest-ranking U.S. Roman Catholic official accused of shielding an abusive priest.
Bishop Robert Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph each are charged with one count of failure to report suspected child abuse to the state. Finn’s attorneys have asked to have his case dismissed, contending he was not the diocese’s mandatory reporting agent.
Defense attorney J.R. Hobbs also asked Circuit Judge John Torrence on Tuesday to sever the cases so they can be tried separately.
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