Friday, September 7, 2012

Bishop Finn Found Guilty on One Charge and Double Standards


Edit: Basic fact of the matter is that Father Ratigan, while having a problem with pornography, was determined not to be a threat to children by his psychiatrist.
Unfortunately, after his attempted suicide and being returned to light duty, Ratigan proved unwilling or incapable of following the orders prescribed for him, and Msgr Murphy then reported Ratigan to police as Kansas City Star reports:
Ratigan attempted suicide just after the diocese learned of the troubling pictures on his computer in December 2010. He later was sent for a mental evaluation, after which Finn reassigned him to an Independence mission house and ordered him to stay away from children, computers and cameras. Murphy reported Ratigan to police in May 2011 after he repeatedly violated those orders.

While the bishop attempted to save and protect one of his priests, forces outside and possibly within the Church saw this as an opportunity to publicly humiliate and even procure a resignation of one of the more conservative prelates in the Church today, who's been making an effort to clean up his Archdiocese.

This will also provide excellent leverage, as the Star states, quoting lawyer Dan Ross says of this case, “It’s great leverage for a settlement, as well as direct evidence,”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CNS) -- Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph was convicted Sept. 6 of one count of failing to report suspected child abuse and acquitted on another count in a brief bench trial.
Jackson County Circuit Judge John M. Torrence issued the verdict and quickly set and suspended a sentence of two years' probation. The charges carried a possible maximum sentence of one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
In a courtroom statement following the verdict, Bishop Finn said he truly regretted and was sorry for the hurt the events caused.
Link to US Catholic.... Also, some whistle blowing, where the professional victim, Jesse Jackson is accused of having homosexual relationships and sexual harassment. Apparently, not all religious figures are equal. This from Lifesite: Tommy Bennett, who worked as Jackson’s personal travel assistant at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit for nearly half-a-million dollars with the Illinois Department of Human Rights in 2010. Bennett further alleges Jackson revealed having a homosexual relationship with one of his teachers and that he was forced to facilitate Jackson’s affairs with several women, including Fox News commentator Tamara Holder, and to clean up afterward. He claims he was discriminated against by Jackson’s employees, then wrongfully terminated.

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