I wrote earlier about Robert Finn, bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, being indicted for being involved in covering up and making possible the sexual abuse of children. Finn must have recognized that he was likely to be convicted and/or didn't want to risk losing his seat of power because he made a deal with prosectors to avoid criminal charges.
For the next five years, Bishop Robert Finn will have to meet every single week with a county prosector to explain every detail of every suspicious incident involving abuse of children in his diocese. Just how much abuse is going on that prosectors think that there will be that much to talk about?
The agreement announced on Tuesday between Bishop Finn and the prosecuting attorney of neighboring Clay County, Daniel White, leaves the bishop open to prosecution for misdemeanor charges for five years, if he does not continue to meet with the prosecutor and report all episodes. But victims' advocates criticized the deal as cozy and ineffectual, compared with previous agreements between bishops and prosecutors. ...
"It cuts out the middleman," [prosecuting attorney of Clay County, Daniel White] said. "He's the bishop; I'm the prosecutor. We're going to meet, he's going to tell me what's going on, and I'm going to decide whether to call law enforcement."
Bishop Finn also agreed to visit all the parishes in Clay County, inform parishioners of how to report suspicious behavior and introduce them to diocesan officials in charge of child protection.
Source: The New York Times
Technically, Bishop Robert Finn was already supposed to be operating under an agreement with the government to pass on allegations of abuse to prosectors. There was such a provision in a settlement with abuse victims back in 2008 and Finn's recent indictment only occurred because he ignored that.
Sow what reason is there to think that he'll do the right thing now? Indeed, what reason is there to trust him at all if he need to be forced to report abuse and rape of kids? That's why this deal isn't being greeted with praise from victims and their families...
But the deal was unpopular with victims and their advocates. Standing outside diocesan headquarters downtown here, four protesters who described themselves as victims of sexual abuse by clergy members insisted that only a court trial would reveal the truth and deter future cover-ups. They said Bishop Finn had received a "free pass."
"It's going to be awfully hard to get him out of here," said David L. Biersmith, regional director of Voice of the Faithful, who said two of his children were abused by a priest. "It may never happen."
Gee, someone with a lot of power and influence is caught either committing crimes or allowing crimes to be committed, but they aren't actually forced to suffer any seriously negative consequences for what they've done. People with far less power, though, do suffer negative consequences for what they do -- sometimes far worse consequences for far lesser crimes and misdeeds.
Who'd have thought anything like this would happen?
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