KC bishop charged for not bringing porn to police

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: Google News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City's Catholic bishop has become the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic official indicted on a charge of failing to protect children after he and his diocese waited five months to tell police about hundreds of images of child pornography discovered on a priest's computer, officials said Friday.

Bishop Robert Finn, the first U.S. bishop criminally charged with sheltering an abusive clergyman, and the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese have pleaded not guilty on one count each of failing to report suspected child abuse.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said Finn and the diocese were required under state law to report the discovery to police because the images gave them reason to believe a child had been abused.

"Now that the grand jury investigation has resulted in this indictment, my office will pursue this case vigorously," Baker said. "I want to ensure there are no future failures to report resulting in other unsuspecting victims."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jvf-idHtZiXlE9i1DSssT1u1dbYA?docId=e5ed05a0a8564df5b000aa599d6e3f93

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http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/T.qhSKFluPffGbzKmEfybg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MTUwMDtjcj0xO2N3PTEyMDA7ZHg9MDtkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTIzODtxPTg1O3c9MTkw/

FILE - This May 3, 2004, file photo provided by the Archdiocese of Kansas City and St. Joseph, Mo., shows the Rev. Monsignor Robert Finn, who is facing a criminal charge for not telling police about child pornography that was found on a priest's computer. Finn, now Bishop of the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese, pleaded not guilty Friday, Oct. 14, 2011, to a misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse. (AP Photo/Archdiocese of Kansas City and St. Joseph)

[The Magistrate]

1. Excellent News, Sir

[fascisthunter]

2. another creep hiding behind the perception of the Sacred

[ColesCountyDem]

3. I'm Catholic. That said...

... I hope they throw the book at 'His Excellency'!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Yes!!

The principal of the Catholic school also needs to be charged. She reported her concerns to the bishop A YEAR AGO but said NOTHING to the police. She needs to lose her certification as well. If she was in a public school, she would have been fired and her career would be over.

[roguevalley]

5. 20 yrs. in the slam might cure this problem

[ColesCountyDem]

7. It's a misdemeanor, so it won't happen. n/t

[Honeycombe8]

11. I thought having child porn on your computer is a federal offense. No? nt

[ColesCountyDem]

12. Bishop Finn didn't.

Father Ratigan did.

[BR_Parkway]

6. There's a law for "sheltering an abusive clergyman"? How awesome

that they've done this - how pitifully sad that they had to...

[defendandprotect]

8. On and on, on and on ---

After the outrage of the Catholic Bishops/GOP "Let Women Die" legislation the other

day, how does anyone still support the Catholic church?

It's war on women couldn't be clearer -- misogynist!

[24601]

9. Is there more information published on this case? I've read & re-

read the linked article and don't see that Finn had any first-hand knowledge of the images on the laptop. Why wouldn't the Computer Technician and Monsignor Robert Murphy been the ones with the obligation to notify police? The exchanges between the Diocese and Police seem to have been between Murphy and a police captain.

Even a Bishop is entitled to the presumption of innocence. When the Jury (if it gets that far) hears that Finn was briefed that Murphy was discussing this with the police, a conviction is unlikely.

[SecularMotion]

10. Here's the article from the NY Times

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=5027241&mesg_id=5027241

[hedgehog]

13. The best part is that Bishop Finn is one of the traditionalist

bishops trying to "reform the reform". A little inside baseball here; there is a move within the hierarchy to restore the old "Father knows best" mentality.

Out in Lincoln, Nebraska, Bishop Bruskewitz is the poster boy for this movement. He boasts of the large number of seminarians in his diocese. The United states Council of Catholic Bishops ( USCCB) has a set of procedures and policies designed to prevent child abuse. Bruskewitz will have nothing to do with it. So the stage is set: an authoritarian regime attractive to Catholics primed to obey every word of the clergy refuses to put minimal safeguards into place. I'm certain the disaster is already under way; it's not a question of "if" but rather "when" the shit hits the fan.