When I read this, I wasn't surprised.
(Much better version of this story at the Times this morning.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Calls for Bishop Robert Finn's resignation intensified a day after he became the highest-ranking U.S. church official to be convicted of a crime related to the child sexual abuse scandal.So, was Bishop Finn sent to the hoosegow for his transgressions? Of course not.
(snip)
Through the decades-long abuse scandal, only one U.S. bishop has stepped down over his failures to stop abusive clergy: Cardinal Bernard Law, who in 2002 resigned as head of the Archdiocese of Boston [and was sent to prison for decadesand was promoted to a cushy job at the Vatican for his efforts].
Jackson County Judge John M. Torrence sentenced Finn to two years of supervised probation. If the bishop abides by a set of stipulations from the judge, the conviction will be wiped from his record in 2014.They never suffer real repercussions -- and the beat goes on.
(Much better version of this story at the Times this morning.)