Posts Tagged Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese
Archbishop Nienstedt, Bishop Robert Finn have new homes outside former dioceses / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on January 14, 2016
Two U.S. bishops who prematurely resigned their posts amid clergy sexual abuse scandals each have found new landing spots outside their previous dioceses.
“A southern Michigan parish announced over the weekend that Archbishop John Nienstedt, formerly head of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese, will help out temporarily in the coming months, while Bishop Robert Finn, former head of the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo. diocese, began last month as chaplain for a Nebraska community of women religious.
“Within the span of two months last spring, Finn, 62, and Nienstedt, 68, stepped down — years before the traditional age of 75 when bishops must submit their resignations to Rome — as shepherds of their respective dioceses, both of which teemed with anger and anguish for their church’s handling of child sexual abuse allegations.”
By Brian Roewe, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Held to Account / Commonweal
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on April 29, 2015
In a March 2014 interview, Pope Francis was given an opportunity to comment on the sexual-abuse scandal, a subject he had said remarkably little about since his election. Acknowledging the ‘deep wounds’ suffered by victims, Francis went on to defend the church as the only public institution to address such crimes ‘with transparency and responsibility.’ No one else has done more, he continued, and yet “the church is the only one to be attacked …’
“For nearly three years, Kansas City Catholics have been wondering whether a pope would replace Finn with a bishop who would put the safety of children first. On April 21, they got their answer. In a terse statement, the Holy See announced that Pope Francis had accepted Finn’s resignation. The brevity of that statement was inversely proportional to its significance for the global church.”
Editorial by Commonweal — Click here to read the rest of this editorial
Bishop Finn finally pays the price for misusing power and placing church secrecy ahead of the safety of area children / The Kansas City Star
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on April 22, 2015
The departure of Robert W. Finn as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, although overdue, is a step forward for the diocese and thousands of area Catholics.
“Finn’s conduct in office made him a symbol of the Catholic church’s failure to adequately address child sexual abuse by priests. He was the first Catholic bishop to be convicted of a crime related to that crisis.”
Editorial in The Kansas City Star — Click here to read the rest of this editorial
Cardinal O’Malley’s warning shot about Bishop Finn is just the start / The Washington Post
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Clericalism, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on November 18, 2014
When Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley told ‘60 Minutes’ that Pope Francis was well aware of the need to hold Missouri Bishop Robert Finn accountable for shielding a suspected child abuser, it sounded like another bell tolling on Finn’s tenure, perhaps the loudest gong yet since Finn was convicted in 2012 …
“But even more important may have been O’Malley’s remarks about the Vatican creating a system for disciplining bishops — establishing a process of accountability that could be used for churchmen beyond low-hanging clerical fruit like Finn.
“’One of the first things that came up is the importance of accountability,’ O’Malley said, referring to his role as leader of the sex abuse commission that Francis set up a year ago. ‘We’re looking at how the church could have protocols of how to respond when a bishop has not been responsible for the protection of the children in his diocese.’”
By David Gibson, Religion News Service, in The Washington Post — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Retired priest’s letter calls upon Pope Francis to investigate Kansas City bishop / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Clericalism, Voice of the Faithful on August 26, 2014
A judge’s recent affirmation that the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese pay $1.1 million for breaching abuse settlement terms has led a retired Milwaukee priest to again request that the pope initiate a penal process investigating Bishop Robert Finn for violations of church law.
“In a letter dated Aug. 21, Fr. James Connell, a canon lawyer, wrote to Pope Francis to inform him of recent developments that ‘solidify the need for a penal process in this matter.’”
By Brian Roewe, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
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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