Posted on 11/25/2014 2:48:41 PM PST by marshmallow
Hundreds of thousands of Americans know and love what would otherwise be an unknown band of traditional Benedictine nuns living in rural Missouri. Thanks to their glorious singing, which has topped the music charts time and time again, the contemplative Benedictines of Mary are famous. Their ‘Lent at Ephesus’ album spent 20 weeks at the top of the Classical Album chart this year.
These contemplative nuns are today speaking out in defense of their bishop, Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO, currently the number one target of the liberal media in America and unwilling to be defended by brother clergy in the country.
“Our Bishop is a man who inspires faith, holiness, and a great zeal for the things of God,” said Mother Cecilia, the young vibrant prioress for the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews.com.
After praying that someone’s voice would be heard in his defense, Mother Cecilia embraced this unexpected opportunity to speak out on behalf of Bishop Finn, who has been singled out over several years for censuring in the Church’s sex abuse scandal, even leading to a Vatican investigation.
“It breaks my heart that so many people only know about him what they hear from the blaring voices of the media and news outlets which have carried a prejudice against him from the beginning,” Mother Cecilia said. “Our community was shown the tenderness of Holy Mother Church through Bishop Finn.”
Since assuming leadership in 2005, Bishop Finn has taken steps to refocus the diocese’s direction, including changes to staff and programs, and ensuring the diocesan newspaper operates faithfully. These changes have angered liberal Catholics opposed to the Church’s orthodoxy.
Ten years ago, Bishop Finn was thrown into the midst of a diocese known far and wide for being....
(Excerpt) Read more at lifesitenews.com ...
ensuring the diocesan newspaper operates faithfully. These changes have angered liberal Catholics opposed to the Church’s orthodoxy.
That will do it.
If the world hates him then he’s gotta be doing something right.
Thank you for posting this; I wasn’t aware of these nuns, but it’s some of the most beautiful singing I’ve ever heard.
Here’s a CBS Sunday Morning segment about them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po5LZpGSN-k
-JT
Ping.
I have read about him before. He should have fought the criminal charges; they were bogus. Now the Pope has an excuse to dismiss an orthodox bishop.
But they love Pope Francis. So what’s that mean?
God should have protected him. But He didn’t.
Very sweet -— a most attractive way to live.
Really - Bishop Finn was brought up on bogus charges? Where in the world did you get your information? Must the same source that Al Sharpton gets his about Ferguson?
Finn ignored the request of the principal at the school where Ratigan was the pastor to remove him because he was acting inappropriately with students. And, Finn did not follow diocesan policy and report Ratigan to the police. In fact, he hid Ratigan.
Finn violated the agreement the diocese entered into with sexual abuse victims costing the diocese millions of dollars.
And, to this day Finn does not believe he did anything wrong.
Finn has to go! Stop defending the man. He is an embarrassment to all that is holy.
His actions and the actions of bishops like him around the world have allowed thousands of young men and women to be sexually abused by people they were taught to respect and honor.
Finn Has to go.
That’s not exactly what happened. The Graves Report makes it clear that it was more complicated than that: http://www.bishop-accountability.org/reports/2011_08_31_Graves_KC_St_Joseph_Report.pdf
To tell you the truth I think that is the problem: why didn’t Finn see through the complications to the most obvious issue - he had a priest who must have had a terrible problem. Finn says he never saw or read the letter from the school principal. I actually believe him. I am not saying that to defend him. I am saying it to indict him: he’s essentially incompetent, a bad administrator. He’s orthodox. He’s a decent fellow. He’s just not tuned in enough to be a good bishop of a diocese. The huge financial problems of the diocese of KCMO seems to bear that out.
Finn did not "hide" Ratigan. Diocesan officials discovered "disturbing" photographs of children on Ratigan’s laptop computer in December 2010. After Ratigan recovered from a suicide attempt, pending further investigation, Finn assigned him to a secluded post with strict orders to have no contact with children. When Ratigan violated those orders, in early May, 2011, diocesan officials turned the photos over to police. The delay between the discovery of the photographs in December 2010 and the report to police in May 2011 is the reason for the calls for Finn's head.
What Finn did pales into insignificance with bishops who for decades covered up numerous known instances of actual sexual abuse. Indeed, I read that the newly appointed Vatican sex abuse investigator himself is accused of failing to report an abusive priest and allowing him to continue in ministry for years! But he'll ride this one out and be just fine. Unlike Finn, he's not Opus Dei and hasn't been cleaning house in a hotbed of dissidents and heretics.
Finn delays reporting computer images for six months and is the subject of an official Vatican visitation while the new Vatican "investigator" hid a man for years and gets placed in charge as a reward.
Finn is the subject of a hatchet job while this whole issue is absolutely saturated with hypocrisy.
You better check with attorney Rebecca Randles on your perception. As part of a previous abuse lawsuit settlement, Bishop Finn, who is a good man but a bad leader, made certain agreements about how to report new incidents of abuse to the authorities. He did not perform as agreed. That simple.
My point is also simple. It's about double standards.
In the pantheon of episcopal sex abuse malfeasance stretching back several decades, Finn's "sins" rank right at the very bottom.
Why is Finn being singled out for a Vatican visitation when a man with far worse accusations of inaction (involving actual abuse) placed in charge of the Vatican's abuse investigations?
He made the first of their kind agreements and then didn’t perform as agreed. Also, God let him get attacked this way, who knows why.
Which is not in dispute.
My point (for the 3rd time) is that Finn's transgression is minor and undeserving of the witch hunt which it has elicited.
Far greater transgressions are being ignored.
Also, God let him get attacked this way, who knows why
Good men being treated unjustly is essentially the story of Christianity.
I do agree with that, his failure to abide by his agreements pales in relation to the evil others have committed and I think it is horrible that the raging liberals in his diocese used the state against him. Prosecutors are notorious in their quest for the big fish just to make their puny reputations so they can get appointed judge.
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