KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCTV
Posted by Chris Oberholtz, Multimedia Producer
By DeAnn Smith, Digital Content Manager
KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV/AP) –
Roman Catholics in the Kansas City area have joined a formal request to Pope Francis to discipline Bishop Robert Finn, who was convicted in 2012 of failing to report a priest involved in child pornography.
An online petition signed by more than 110,000 people worldwide asking for Finn’s removal was also sent to the Vatican. The petition asks for Finn’s resignation.
Others want Pope Francis to initiate a “canonical penal process” against the area’s top bishop.
Finn, the head of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, was placed on two years of court-supervised probation after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge.
The case was related to Finn’s handling of complaints against the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, a priest who admitted taking lewd photographs of young parishioners. Ratigan was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison and 21 years in state prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.
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