UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Wednesday, May 13
For more information: David Clohessy 314 566 9790 ( davidgclohessy@gmail.com ) , Anne Barrett Doyle 781-439-5208 ( barrett.doyle@comcast.net )
Three groups: Finn should not ordain new priests
Bishop was convicted for not reporting child abuse images
Last month, three years late, prelate finally resigned
But Catholic officials are letting him ordain priests & deacons
Organizations say his “continued visibility hurts parishioners and victims”
Three groups concerned about clergy sex crimes and cover ups are urging a Catholic panel to stop a convicted bishop from ordaining priests and deacons in two ceremonies later this month.
Members of BishopAccountability.org, the National Survivor Advocacy Coalition (NSAC), and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) are concerned about Bishop Robert Finn who resigned last month, three years after he was criminally convicted of failing to report suspected child sex crimes by a priest.
The organizations are writing the National Review Board, a group of lay Catholics charged with working with US bishops across on the sexual abuse of minors.
A fourth group, the Boston-based Voice of the Faithful, is expected to write the NRB today expressing the same concern. (Contact Donna Doucette, dbdoucette@votf.org )
They are asking that the group demand that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops ban Bishop Finn from presiding over the upcoming May 16 and May 23 ordination of priests and deacons. Finn was allowed to resign last month, after years of outcry from victims and Catholics over his conviction and his handling of the Fr. Shawn Ratigan case.
“A convicted and disgraced bishop is the last person who should be ordaining a new priest,” the letter said. “What kind of message does it send when a man who could not pass the background check in his own diocese is the one ordaining new priests? Does his crime mean nothing? Do the children Ratigan abused mean nothing?”
The groups fear that if Finn has any public role, victims will be less likely to report abuse and that wrong-doers will feel like they can easily get a “free pass” for covering up abuse. They also worry about the feelings and morale of Kansas City Catholics, many of whom want healing and closure and are dismayed by Finn’s continued visibility in the church.
“There are dozens of less-objectionable bishops who are a short plane ride from Kansas City,” the letter continued. “Why can’t one of them officiate at the ordination? Why celebrate a man who deliberately put children in the path of a predator? Finn is not a leader, and allowing him to remain in a position of power is not healing for anyone.”
The groups also want reassurance that Finn will be assigned a life of “prayer and penance” and will not be allowed any public or powerful roles in the church in Kansas City, the US or the Vatican.
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