KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter
by Pat Perriello on Sep. 11, 2012 NCR Today
A few points might be considered in the case of the recent conviction of Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese for failing to alert authorities to one of his priests taking hundreds of lewd photographs of children in Catholic schools and parishes.
Finn is the first U.S. Catholic bishop convicted in the sex abuse crisis. He is saying he wants to stay on the job and carry out his responsibilities. The question is, Should he be forced to resign or should he be removed from office if necessary?
Finn has said he did nothing wrong. He blames policy failures for his failure to notify authorities. Yet this was not the first complaint against him. He reached a deal with authorities in an earlier case to avoid a trial.
Some have called for his resignation. Nicholas Cafardi, a canon lawyer from Duquesne and occasional NCR contributor, says Finn can be removed under canon law, but it should not be necessary. Cafardi said he believes Finn should resign for the good of the church and his diocese.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.