Bishop Robert Finn, pastoral leader of the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., yesterday became the first bishop, and the highest Roman Catholic Church official, to be convicted in criminal court in America for his role in the Church’s decades-long clergy sexual abuse scandal. Church reform movement Voice of the Faithful® decries the fact that our Church, as moral authority, was unwilling to hold Bishop Finn accountable and left it to civil authorities to do so.
VOTF has long felt that our Church will never be healed of the deep wounds clergy sexual abuse causes until the Church reveals secrets that helped spread the scandal, secrets like those Bishop Finn kept. The Church must bolster its child protection guidelines to provide the means and methods of holding bishops accountable if they cover up abuse, placing the institution of the Church above the welfare of children.
VOTF also feels that, as painful as a jury trial for Finn and prosecution of the diocese would have been, the Church would have been better served if the public had been allowed to hear testimony from those harmed by the bishop’s actions.
Finally Voice of the Faithful®, as it has done repeatedly in the past, calls on the Vatican and the bishops to hold accountable those among them who knowingly fail to remove clerics who abuse children and will be looking for the Vatican and United States Conference of Catholic bishops to act regarding Bishop Finn, at least in terms of fraternal correction.
Voice of the Faithful®: Voice of the Faithful® is a worldwide movement of concerned mainstream Roman Catholics working to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and increase the laity’s role in governance and guidance of the Church. More information is at http://www.votf.org.
Voice of the Faithful ® 
#1 by Pat Smith on September 7, 2012 - 11:20 PM
Wake up, Citizens! This matter of Finn and/or his diocese is not merely a matter of failure of some poor and humble (Finn spent inordinate amounts remodeling a space as large as all of Catholic Charities for his luxurious personal dwelling in the Catholic Center) apostolic successor who failed to report suspected child abuse because of compassion for one of his own (very politically aligned-with himself) presbyters. Nor is it legal hair-splitting as to the constitutionality of the mandatory reporting requirements as Finn’s expensive Lathrop and Gage attorneys (unsuccessfully) tried to argue.
Here is only some of what’s ultimately missing in nearly every “journalism” article I’ve seen on this topic so far (the proverbial elephant in the room – in this case it’s a herd):
Who were the sentient, educated, upright women and men of formed consciences and adult maturity – many of them baptized in Christ as a new creation and some of them with children of their own – that sold their morality and ethics for thirty pieces of silver (aka a job and benefits)?
Who were the morally erect legal wizards advising Finn AND cohorts – in advance of the crash – how to manage the non-disclosure to civil authorities?
Who were the self-serving shape-shifters that were spinning their stories privately to the investigators and their images publicly to the Faithful?
Why did the federal investigation only go as far as the extremely obvious low hanging – no, fallen on the ground fruit, Ratigan.
Why was almost everybody, EVERYBODY around Finn obsessed with protecting the brand (and their sorry, sell-out hides) OVER doing the right thing for the kids that pictorial evidence admitted in the courtroom shows were already objectified by Ratigan’s actions? (Look up Misprision of a felony Title 18 U.S.C. § 4. “Misprision of felony. Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”)
This DOES NOT model Jesus Christ! The lack of integrity and forthrightness of the major players in Finn’s cabinet is profoundly astonishing.
The law enforcement and prosecutorial pursuit of this does not even rise to the level of paultry. Why? Because of the enormous financial, personnel, legal and influential public relations resources of that diocese and its well heeled, elite movers and shakers.
Huge amounts of public resources were availed for these investigations and prosecutions in Clay and Jackson counties and at the federal level. Amply compensated and perked city, county, state and federal civil servants with forensic technology out the wazzoo and support staff were involved in investigating and prosecuting this matter. In the end, they work for YOU, the citizen.
Ask yourself if you got your money’s worth out of the investment.
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