UNITED STATES
Boston Herald
By: Owen Boss
An American bishop convicted of shielding a sexually abusive priest is still the head of a Catholic diocese, a fact the Vatican needs to “address urgently,” Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley tells CBS News during an extended “60 Minutes” interview set to air tomorrow night.
“We’re looking at how the church could have protocols on how to respond when a bishop has not been responsible for the protection of children in his diocese,” O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, says of Bishop Robert Finn of the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese.
Finn pleaded guilty more than two years ago to a charge of failing to tell law enforcement one of his priests was suspected of sexually abusing a minor.
“It’s a question the Holy See needs to address urgently … There’s a recognition of that from Pope Francis,” O’Malley tells CBS.
Finn waited six months to notify police about the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, whose computer contained hundreds of lewd photos of young girls taken in and around churches where he worked. Ratigan was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.
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.