Charlie Chaput Gleefully Funds $250,000 Bail For His Favorite Child Endangerment Monsignor Bill Lynn

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2014/01/philadelphia_priest_posts_bail.html#incart_river

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said in a letter to clergy and parishioners today that helping Lynn come up with $25,000 to post 10 percent of his bail was "both reasonable and just." He said Lynn remains on administrative leave and may not function in public as a priest.

Chaput described the appeals court decision as a matter of legal substance rather than technicalities.

Lynn "presents no danger to anyone," the archbishop wrote. "He poses no flight risk. The funding for his bail has been taken from no parish, school or ministry resources, impacts no ongoing work of the church and will be returned when the terms of bail are completed. Nor does it diminish in any way our determination to root out the possibility of sexual abuse from the life of our local church."

David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said Chaput has refused to "take harsh, clear disciplinary measures against those who hurt or let others hurt kids."

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Cardinal Rigali Under Boss Monsignor Lynn Found Guilty in Philly

Monsignor William Lynn and Cardinal Justin "Big Frank" Rigali

Monsignor Lynn, under boss of the Cardinals Rigali and Bevilacqua regimes, has been found guilty of the charge of Child Endangerment in the Philadelphia Archdiocese Child Abuse Trial.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18560069

Prosecutors alleged that Lynn, who supervised hundreds of priests, helped cover-up child sex abuse, often by transferring priests to new parishes.

He is now the highest-ranking US Roman Catholic official convicted in connection in a wider scandal.

Child sex abuse cases across Roman Catholic churches in the US have cost billions in settlements, driving some US dioceses into bankruptcy.

The jury deliberated for 13 days but was unable to deliver a verdict against a co-defendant, Rev James Brennan, accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy....

As secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, Lynn was in charge of supervising about 800 priests in the Philadelphia archdiocese, including investigating sex abuse claims.

Lynn told parishes with suspected predators that their priests were being removed for health reasons and then sent the men to unsuspecting churches, prosecutors said.

Defence lawyers argued that Lynn alone tried to document the complaints, to get priests into treatment and to alert higher Church officials to the growing crisis.

Central to but physically absent from the case was Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who ran the archdiocese.

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Dan White – Bishop Finn – Incest? – Separation of Church and State?

Bishop Finn of Kansas City has presumably entered into a plea bargain in Clay County Missouri, the county where Father Ratigan lives, works and plays.

Bishop Finn will meet once a month with Prosecuting Attorney Daniel White to discuss any and all things related to Child Abuse and Child Endangerment for a period of five years.

Sounds a bit like Probation and meeting with your probation officer. Whatever.

One question.  If Bishop Finn resigns, as all decent Catholics in Kansas City / St. Joseph Missouri want him to, in order to protect their children, does he still have to report to Dan White? Or does Bishop Finn have to stay in a religious appointment because of the say so of the secular civil authority?

Come again?

I thought there was a separation of Church and State in this Country.  An established accepted taboo not unlike the taboo against incest. 

 

This prosecutor has in effect locked job security into the legal equation for Bishop Finn for five more years, long suffering years for the good people in his diocese?  Tell me I am wrong. 

Or, that if Finn resigns tomorrow, Clay County will be satisfied that a dangerous person has left a job in which he has done harm and can continue to do harm to the community – and Probation ends for Bishop Finn?  Finn can then leave town?

Where is this written contract between White and Finn for constitutional lawyers to analyze and comment on?

What is Dan White getting out of this sudden incestuous relationship in bed with Bobbie Finn or the RCC?  Dan White is signing off on Vatican orders? USCCB? Who does he work for really? Who or what is he protecting?  Bishop Finn’s church job?

There is certainly nothing in it for the citizens of Missouri who basically are stuck with an incompetent, uncaring cleric on a five year learning curve regarding a quest for humanity in his job description.

Business as usual in Clay County?  Hide your children?

CEO Finn Broke the Rules – Ignored Safeguards in Place – Protected Ratigan – Did Not Care (about the children)

Former diocesan advocate criticizes failed system in KC

http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/former-diocesan-advocate-criticizes-failed-system-kc

Nov. 08, 2011

By Joshua J. McElwee

Accountability

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- "This diocese is in desperate need of healing, and I do not believe that can happen until Bishop [Robert] Finn is held accountable” for his mishandling of clergy sexual misconduct cases, a former victims' advocate for the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., said today.

Mercy Sr. Jeanne Christensen, who served as the diocesan victims' advocate from 2000-2004, spoke at a press conference hosted by the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests this afternoon.

Christensen is thought to be the first former diocesan advocate to publicly criticize her diocese over its response to allegations of abuse, according to SNAP members.

Finn and the diocese have been criminally charged with failing to protect children from abuse.

Christensen said Finn did not use diocesan procedures to investigate allegations against Fr. Shawn Ratigan, a diocesan priest arrested in May for possession of child pornography. The diocesan victims' advocate, the immediate response team, and the independent review board, she said, "were in place but not utilized."

"By not doing so, children were placed at risk and were victimized," said Christensen. "This must never happen again."

Allegations of mishandling of clergy sexual misconduct cases have roiled the Catholic church here over recent months. A local prosecutor announced separate charges Oct. 14 against both the diocese and Finn for failing to report suspected child abuse.

The flashpoint has been the response of the diocese to the child pornography case of a local priest. Images of naked children were found on the computer of Fr. Shawn Ratigan in December last year. The Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese learned about the images and removed Ratigan from his parish, but did not report the incident to authorities until May.

While Christensen said in a telephone interview today that "it's not for me to judge" how Finn might be held responsible, the former advocate suggested others in the hierarchy should ask the bishop to resign.

"Whoever is responsible within the church hierarchy needs to say to Bishop Finn, you're not going to be bishop in Kansas City," she said.

That suggestion by members of the hierarchy, Christensen said, should come about in order to help the Kansas City diocese try to heal.

"[Finn] didn’t do what should have been done, and, quite frankly, he's lost credibility with a lot of people," she said. "A lot of people no longer trust him. How are we going to heal our church in that situation? How do we heal in the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph?"

During the press conference, SNAP also announced a new lawsuit against Fr. Michael Tierney, a diocesan priest who has been the focus of several other lawsuits accusing him of abusing children in the 1970s. Tierney was removed from active ministry in the diocese June 2 after the independent review board met with a person accusing Tierney of abuse and found their testimony credible.

The diocesan spokesperson, Rebecca Summers, said she did not have any immediate comment on Christensen's remarks as the diocese had not been made aware of the press conference or the new suit against Tierney.

SNAP, Summers said, often does not inform the diocese of its press conferences and the diocese "usually doesn't know anything about what the specifics are until someone brings us the suit or let's us know what is going on."

At the press conference, Christensen said she also felt compelled to speak because her experience working as the diocesan advocate gave her a sense of the "anguish caused by abuse." During her time at the diocese under retired Bishop Raymond Boland, who was replaced by Finn in 2005, Christensen said she heard the stories of some 40 victims of abuse.

"I speak because I cannot remain silent but must speak in support of the victim survivors of abuse, for their families and especially for those who are unable or too afraid to speak themselves," she said.

"I urge others to speak out too because we must speak and act for the protection of all children -- so that no more children ever suffer abuse at the hands of the clergy."

After leaving her role as the victims' advocate for the diocese, Christensen continued to serve in the diocesan peace and justice office until 2006.

The charges against the diocese and Finn came from Jackson County, Mo., where the diocesan chancery is located. Ratigan is in jail on charges filed in neighboring Clay County, Mo., where his last parish is located.

Media reports have indicated that a grand jury in that Clay County is also investigating the diocese's response in the case, and has heard testimony from Finn and vicar general Msgr. Robert Murphy.

A federal grand jury charged Ratigan in August with 13 counts of production, attempted production and possession of child pornography.

No matter what happens next in the diocese, Christensen said in the interview her focus is on why the appropriate diocesan procedures for reporting abuse were not followed, and whether children could have been put in danger.

The fact that the advocate, the response team, and the review board were not notified, she said, "is a travesty."

"They were there. There's no reason for those children to have been put at risk."

Bishop Finn Indicted – KC, Mo

Here we go again.  Same old shit again.

USCCB Chairman of the Bishop's Task Force on the Life and Dignity of the Human Person has been indicted protecting an accused priest in his diocese.  

Hey, what's the big deal? It is only a misdemeanor.

US bishop indicted on charge of failing to report suspected child abuse

"The indictment is the first ever of a Catholic bishop in the 25 years since the scandal over sexual abuse by priests first became public in the United States.

Bishop Finn is accused of covering up abuse that occurred as recently as last year – almost 10 years since the nation’s Catholic bishops passed a charter pledging to report suspected abusers to law enforcement authorities.

The bishop has acknowledged that he knew of the existence of the photos last December but did not turn them over to the police until May.

The indictment was announced yesterday by the Jackson County prosecutor, Jean Peters Baker. It had been under seal since October 6th because the bishop was out of the country. He returned on Thursday.

“This is about protecting children,” Ms Baker said…."

KC bishop charged for not bringing porn to police

"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."

The indictment, handed down Oct. 6 but sealed because Finn was out of the country, says the bishop failed to report suspicions against the priest from Dec. 16, 2010, when the photos were discovered, to May 11, 2011, when the diocese turned them over to police…."

From Wikipedia:

"…Then-Father Finn was named by Blessed Pope John Paul II a Chaplain to His Holiness in August 2003, upon the recommendation of the then-Archbishop of St. Louis, Justin Francis Rigali, later the Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia, who had named him to the posts he was then exercising (the honor was bestowed while he was still serving as CFP Director and editor of the St. Louis Review; Father Finn received the title of Reverend Monsignor).

Having applied for membership in Opus Dei in January 2004, Monsignor Finn was named two months later as coadjutor bishop (with right of succession) of the diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph. 

Father Finn was consecrated to the episcopate on May 3, 2004, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus. On May 24, 2005 the Vatican accepted Bishop Boland's request for retirement. As Coadjutor, Bishop Finn automatically succeeded him as sixth bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City ~ St. Joseph.

Bishop Finn became a member of Priestly Society of the Holy Cross in April 2005, which is linked to the Catholic personal prelature Opus Dei. In an interview with the Catholic Key, Msgr. Finn told of how Opus Dei had helped open his heart to the work of the Holy Spirit. Finn is not technically a member of the Opus Dei prelature, as he is a diocesan priest, but he is able to receive spiritual formation from the prelature in a similar way as its members do.

…Bishop Finn currently serves on the Administrative and the Priorities and Plans Committees for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is Chairman of the Bishop's Task Force on the Life and Dignity of the Human Person.

The Board of Directors of the Institute on Religious Life (IRL) at their September annual meeting elected the Most Rev. Robert W. Finn, Bishop of Kansas City–St. Joseph as the organization’s new president. …"

Knights of Columbus Protect Bishop Finn Kansas City? http://t.co/nqSq5HFHYP #knightsofcolumbus, #childabuse #KansasCity #RobertFinn #SNAP
— Mike McShea (@mc_shea1) October 29, 2013