KANSAS CITY (MO)
Wall Street Journal
Associated Press
A Missouri bishop who became the nation’s highest-ranking Catholic official charged with shielding an abusive priest was found guilty Thursday of one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse.
Bishop Robert Finn was acquitted on a second count. He received two years of probation, but that sentence was suspended. He is required to have mandatory abuse reporter training.
Bishop Finn argued he shouldn’t face charges because he wasn’t the diocese’s mandated reporter under the law. At the time, the responsibility rested mainly with Vicar General Robert Murphy. …
Attorneys for both Bishop Finn and the diocese also have argued that the state’s law is unconstitutional.
A computer technician found child pornography on Rev. Ratigan’s laptop in December 2010 and reported it to the diocese. Of the hundreds of images found, many focused on the crotch areas of clothed children and one series showed the exposed genitals of a girl believed to be 3 or 4 years old.
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