KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCTV
[with video]
By DeAnn Smith, Digital Content Manager
deann.smith@kctv5.com
By Brad Stephens, Anchor
KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) –
He is a temporary caretaker, but he knows he has an important role to play in the coming weeks.
Joseph Naumann, who has been archbishop for Kansas City, KS for a decade, admits he was stunned when the phone call came from the Vatican on April 17. He was told that Pope Francis on April 21 would accept the resignation of Robert Finn as bishop for the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese.
And Naumann was told that the church leadership wanted him to assume the role as interim bishop. He initially had his reservations, but has overcome them.
“There’s been some polarization within the church,” he said. “What I hope we can do is begin a process of healing and uniting us as a church,” Naumann said. “I think Jesus, he prayed for that for the church.”
Finn admitted in court that he failed to alert authorities about Father Shawn Ratigan, who was a pedophile taking pictures of young girls in his parishes. Finn tried to rehabilitate Ratigan after he attempted to take his own life and court documents say Finn’s actions allowed Ratigan to continue to have access to little girls even after child pornography was found on his church computer.
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