KANSAS CITY (MO)
Fox 4
[with video]
September 7, 2012, by Michelle Pekarsky and John Pepitone
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There are renewed calls for Catholic Bishop Robert Finn to step down after his conviction for failing to report child abuse.
“It matters to us less what sanctions the pope issues, it matters to us more that the pope take some action against a proven criminal,” said David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Some Catholics are divided over who should be leading the diocese in Kansas City-St. Joseph now that Bishop Finn is the highest ranking Catholic leader ever to be convicted as part of the church’s child sex abuse scandal.
Defenders of the bishop say they are relieved the criminal case against him is finally over. But opponents say they will continue to push for change in the Catholic church as victims of abuse move forward with civil suits against the diocese.
Bishop Finn’s apology in court wasn’t enough for families who say their children were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of one Finn’s priests, Father Shawn Ratigan. It was Bishop Finn’s failure to report suspicions about Ratigan in a timely manner that led to his criminal conviction.
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