When news broke Tuesday (Apr. 21) of Bishop Robert Finn’s resignation as head of the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese, a primary question asked: Did he step down on his own, or was he forced out?
“The announcement from the Vatican published in its daily bulletin said Pope Francis accepted Finn’s resignation ‘in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.’ Canon 401.2 reads: ‘A diocesan bishop who has become less able to fulfill his office because of ill health or some other grave cause is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office.’
“While it’s possible the Vatican requested Finn resign, neither the announcement nor canon 401.2 offer clear evidence to that, according to four canon lawyers who spoke to NCR.”
By Brian Roewe, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Canon Lawyers: Origins of Bishop Finn’s resignation unclear / National Catholic Reporter
Voice of the Faithful
A lay movement for governance reform in the Roman Catholic Church, responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal and supporting survivors.
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#1 by Ed Wilson on April 23, 2015 - 5:02 PM
I don¹t think it was unclear. In corporate life it is not uncommon that, after a mishap, misdeed or just poor performance, an executive will resign ³to pursue other interests² or ³ to spend more time with his or her family². In the absence of any indication of poor health, the citation of canon 401.2 without any praise of his many years of service, makes it pretty obvious that the resignation was strongly encouraged. If the Vatican had said it was because of the conviction that would have highlighted the blatant issue of what took so long. Besides, as NCR has made clear for several years, Finn was a disaster even apart from the Rhatigan case.
Ed Wilson Brooklyn NY
on 4/23/15 2:16 PM, Voice of the Faithful ® at comment-reply@wordpress.com wrote:
> Voice of the Faithful posted: “When news broke Tuesday (Apr. 21) of Bishop > Robert Finn’s resignation as head of the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese, > a primary question asked: Did he step down on his own, or was he forced out? > ³The announcement from the Vatican published in its ” >
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