Judge to try case against KC bishop, diocese
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The criminal case against the highest-ranking Catholic official in the U.S. to be charged with shielding an abusive priest is headed for a swift ending after prosecutors and the bishop’s lawyer agreed Wednesday to let a judge – not jurors – decide the case.
Attorneys for Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn and prosecutors will have their case tried by a judge Thursday, weeks ahead of a scheduled Sept. 24 jury trial on misdemeanor charges that Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph failed to report suspected child abuse. The judge is expected to reach a verdict later that day.
The charges stem from the Rev. Shawn Ratigan’s child porn case, in which church officials knew about photos on the priest’s computer but didn’t turn him in for six months. Finn has argued that he was not the diocese’s mandated reporter under the law – at the time, the responsibility rested mainly with Vicar General Robert Murphy – so Finn should not face charges.
Mike Mansur, spokesman for Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, said his boss and attorneys for Finn and the diocese have negotiated a set of stipulated facts that will be presented to Judge John M. Torrence on Thursday.
“Bench trials are not typical, but they do happen,” Mansur said. “Nothing about this case has been particularly typical.”
Attorneys for both Finn and the diocese also have argued that the state’s law is unconstitutional. [more]
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5 Comments
Both sides also agreed to a set of “stipulated facts” upon which the case will be tried. Their worth depends in large part on how honest the bishop is and has been all along, both with the court and with his people. If the bishop acknowledges less than the whole truth of the matter, his case will swiftly end up in the court of public opinion, which has not been favorable to him.
Florian; perhaps I am not as jaded as some who post here having very little experience (new Catholic) but I would assume that a priest or bishop would always tell the truth, especially in a court of law in which he swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help me God!!!
Oh my! I have worked for the Church for more than 25 years, and I assure you, some of them do lie!
Sorry to rain on your utopian image of our church. Self-preservation can be a very alluring temptress. These guys are all still human. Count on Bishop Finn and his lawyers to advance and defend their “version” of the truth.
now maybe some other D.A. in other USA counties will advance the “ball” in their territories. Hopeful but not opptumistic[sic] Think
they can get to that guy “hidden” in Rome!!