KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe | Oct. 1, 2014
KANSAS CITY, MO. The call was unexpected, its purpose vague.
Around Sept. 16, Fr. Patrick Rush of Visitation Parish in Kansas City was contacted by a woman religious at a small convent in eastern Kansas. She said she was calling on behalf of the pope’s ambassador to the United States and that Ottawa, Ontario, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast had requested a meeting with him. The basis for it was not given.
Rush, a priest of 45 years and former vicar general for the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese, met with the archbishop and a priest taking notes Sept. 22 at the convent in Overland Park, Kan., a suburb of Kansas City. Within the first few minutes of the meeting, Rush told NCR he learned that Prendergast “was interviewing people who had written to the nuncio, both pro and con,” about the diocese and leadership of Bishop Robert Finn, on orders from Rome.
On Monday, NCR broke news of the Vatican’s investigation of Finn, which the diocese has since confirmed. Later that day, Rush first spoke about his interview with the Canadian archbishop with The Kansas City Star.
He described the hourlong meeting as “a nice back-and-forth.” Rush said he wasn’t sure why he was contacted for an interview, but said his 11 years as vicar general under Bishop Raymond Boland might have played a part. He added he had once copied the nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, on a letter to Finn, but had not written to Viganò directly regarding the bishop. …
Asked if the conversation with the Canadian archbishop touched on Finn’s misdemeanor conviction, Rush said they discussed how the accusations against former priest Shawn Ratigan were handled, what legal advice was given, and the fallout from the conviction.
“[Prendergast] basically said, ‘This is going to be difficult because I get both sides, I get two sides.’ And then he said, ‘Once I make my recommendation, there’s no guarantee that the Vatican will accept the recommendation I make, whatever the recommendation is,’ ” Rush said.
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