Sharing the Guilt

Bishop Finn has agreed to pay $600,000 of diocesan funds to the parents of a girl abused by a priest under his care in the diocese of Kansas City. (I've written about this case at length).

What struck me from this article about the settlement is this quote ...

The second count, which Fenner allowed to remain, accused the bishop and diocese of receiving, possessing or distributing pornographic images of the girl.

Fenner is the judge in the case, who dismissed one count in the lawsuit and let another stand - the count that the diocese was liable not only for a coverup but was COMPLICIT IN THE CRIME ITSELF.

Let that sink in.

The diocese of Kansas City was not only wrong in covering up what the abuser did, but was INVOLVED IN THE CRIME ITSELF - by "receiving and possessing" pornographic images of the two-year-old in question, by not turning the photos over to police, and eventually letting the evidence be destroyed so that the priest had a better chance of getting off.

This is mind boggling.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Kevin: I've really enjoyed your coverage of this case, as horrific as it has been. Since the story of the Priest Pedophilia Scandal broke in the United States on Epiphany Sunday around 2001, many of us have said that the Church is guilty of criminal coverups. Few believed us little "canaries in the mines" until recently. Unfortunately for many of the Church-going Catholics, the propaganda of the bishops is believed. According to them, "The crisis is over!" To hear them talk, "It's a thing of the past." Now, I hope their past catches up with them, and they start exchanging their beautiful vestments for little orange PRISON jumpsuits. Jeannie Guzman

May 16, 2013 at 8:22 AM

Anonymous said…

Complicit, not implicit! JaySr

May 16, 2013 at 9:27 AM

Kevin O'Brien said…

Thanks, Jay! I wrote the post in a hurry while rushing out the door, and have since corrected it, thanks to you.

May 16, 2013 at 10:02 AM

The Full Story on Bishop Finn

" Let's step outside and settle this thing like men ," she said, and she was a lady. " You're spewing anti-Catholic rhetoric !" he insisted. "How can you criticize a bishop when you're an actor and everyone knows actors are perverts and nitwits ," she screamed. (That last gal had a point). These are all reactions to my post last week about Rod Dreher's article on Bishop Finn's Indictment. And above all, people are charging me with believing the biased media coverage of the scandal. This, at least, is not true. In fact, everything I say in this post will be taken not from a media account of the scandal , but from the independent report on it as commissioned by the diocese , the Graves Report, which you can read on your own here . So let's shove the media aside and see for ourselves what's contained in this internal diocesan report conducted by an independent firm. *** Fr. Shawn Ratigan was a priest of the diocese of Kansas Cit...

Alarms and Violent Decisions

On Monday I returned from nearly two weeks on the road, our Great North Tour, in which we gave 15 performances of 7 scripts in 13 days in 6 states – from Grand Forks, North Dakota, to Holt’s Summit, Missouri. In all of that wonderful chaos God gave me the great blessing of being away from the internet . And two weeks away from the Lying for Jesus issue was very therapeutic. But as therapy ends and Lent begins, I’d like to conclude my thoughts on the firestorm that swept us all up into the single most divisive issue I have encountered in ten years as a Catholic. My Role in This Back in August, James O’Keefe was invited to give what amounted to the keynote address at the American Chesterton Society Conference in Emmitsburg, Maryland. O’Keefe electrified the crowd by telling us that he was inspired by G. K. Chesterton (he did not mention his other role model, quasi-Satanist Saul Alinsky) and that he, James O’Keefe, was willing to live a monk –like existence harassed by leftists and...

Theology of the Trench Coat

"All healthy men, ancient and modern, know there is a certain fury in sex that we cannot afford to inflame, and that a certain mystery and awe must ever surround it if we are to remain sane.” - G K Chesterton Below I have copied a transcribed portion of an interview with Christopher West , who, after a bit of a sabbatical, is apparently back with a vengeance. My friends, read what West says below and tell me (even if you know nothing of the Theology of the Body) if this sounds right to you. Tell me if you smell something a little funny. Tell me if this doesn't remind you of a kind of "grooming behavior". I'm not saying West is "grooming", but I am saying that if the wrong kinds of folks buy into this kind of language and what seems to be an apology for sexual license, they can use it for "grooming". Let me say that I agree with the general points he's making: sex is good, the body is good, and the marital act is good. It's wrong to b...

Waiting for Godot to Leave

Search This Blog