KANSAS CITY (MO)
Fox 4
September 6, 2012, by Mary Pulley and Jason M. Vaughn
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The reaction to the conviction of Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese Bishop Robert Finn was mixed, as some people thought that the penalty wasn’t tough enough – while others say that they still stand behind the embattled bishop.
Finn was found guilty of one misdemeanor count of failure to report suspected child abuse, and acquitted of another similar charge, in a Jackson County courtroom on Thursday afternoon in connection to the child porn case involving former Northland priest Shawn Rattigan. He was sentenced to two years probation, which was suspended, and forced to implement a number of new child abuse reporting programs within the diocese.
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said that they applaud the guilty verdict, but wish that victims had the opportunity to speak out in court, and had asked prosecutors to not be sentenced right away.
“It’s huge that there finally has been a ruling in an American court that a bishop has concealed and ignored and enabled child sex crimes,” said David Clohessy of SNAP. “We certainly think it would have been more just and more healing if the victims of Father Ratigan’s crimes and Bishop Finn’s crimes had a opportunity to address the court.”
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