VATICAN CITY
USA Today
Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY April 21, 2015
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of an American bishop who was found guilty of failing to tell police about a suspected pedophile priest.
The Vatican on Tuesday said the pope accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert Finn, who leads the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri.
The resignation was offered under the code of canon law that allows resignation for illness or a “grave” reason that makes them unfit for office.
In 2012, Finn pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for failing to report suspected abuse after the Rev. Shawn Ratigan took hundreds of lewd images of children in Catholic schools and parishes.
Finn became the first U.S. bishop to be convicted in a criminal court of failing to take action over a suspected abuser and was sentenced to two years’ probation.
Ratigan pleaded guilty to child pornography charges and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
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