For a long time now I’ve thought one of the things that had to happen before we could begin to put the sex abuse crisis behind us in the Catholic Church was for a bishop to be led away in handcuffs. Well, that didn’t exactly happen today in Kansas City, but it was a big step nonetheless. In a bench trial, Bishop Robert Finn of the Kansas City – St. Joseph diocese was convicted of one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspicions of child abuse. The Bishop will receive a suspended sentence which will be removed from his record after he complies with some court directives aimed at increasing accountability and aiding the victims of abuse in his diocese.
I am reminded of the words of Winston Churchill: “This is not the end. This is not the beginning of the end. But it may be the end of the beginning.”
Jim Philipps (3rd millennium pilgrim)
3rdmillenniumpilgrim's Blog 