KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
BY RICK MONTGOMERY
rmontgomery@kcstar.com
The bishop is a fan of Johnny Cash.
One tune in particular stirs Bishop James V. Johnston, who was installed this week as leader of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
“I think it was (first) done by Nine Inch Nails,” he said.
The song is called “Hurt.” It’s about harming one’s self. Cash’s voice breaks as he sings of addiction and a need for redemption.
Now Catholics throughout northwest Missouri are praying that Johnston, as successor to Bishop Robert W. Finn, will help heal the diocese of its own self-inflicted wounds. …
Finn resigned in April, 31 months after his criminal conviction for failing to report suspected child abuse. The diocese had waited five months to inform police that lewd pictures of pupils at a Catholic school were found on Fr. Shawn Ratigan’s computer.
At Johnston’s installation on Wednesday, he asked perishioners to support Finn with “prayer and kindness.” He did not reference the Ratigan case, the dozens of lawsuits alleging long-ago instances of sexual abuse by priests, nor specific policies he’d propose to keep children safe.
The diocese made strides in that direction before Finn’s resignation. Still, the homily given by Johnston didn’t go over well with the group SNAP, which stands for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
“Ignoring abuse and cover up won’t prevent abuse and cover up,” director David Clohessy said Thursday.
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