Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the only American bishop to have been convicted of failing to report suspected child abuse.
On Tuesday, the Vatican announced the resignation of Bishop Robert Finn of the diocese of St Joseph-Kansas City in Missouri.
The announcement cited canon law that a bishop who “has become less able to fulfil his office because of ill health or some other grave cause is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office”.
Bishop Finn, 62, had made a surprise visit to Rome on April 14, during which he met the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
In 2012, Bishop Finn was convicted on a misdemeanour count of failing to report suspected child abuse in the case of former priest Fr Shawn Ratigan, who produced child pornography.
The bishop had failed to inform authorities when a computer technician discovered hundreds of indecent photos of underage minors on Ratigan’s laptop.
Bishop Finn sent him for therapy and ordered him to not be near children. Ratigan had reportedly attempted suicide.
But the priest continued to attend church events and take inappropriate photos of girls for five more months.
Church officials reported him in May, 2011, without Bishop Finn’s approval.
After conviction, the bishop was given a suspended sentence and later struck a deal to avoid a similar charge by entering a diversion programme.
Local Catholics began calling for Bishop Finn’s resignation in 2011.
An online petition asking for the Vatican to remove him was opened in 2012 and gathered more than 260,000 signatures.
An apostolic visitation of St Joseph-Kansas City diocese was carried out by Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa in September, 2014.
Spokespeople for the diocese said in the wake of Bishop Finn’s resignation that now is the time for healing.
According to an article in the National Catholic Reporter, the bishop’s resignation “will have significance beyond the borders of Missouri”.
“The issue of holding bishops accountable has long been the largest and most provocative unresolved element in the Church’s handling of sexual abuse cases,” the article stated.
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