VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of a U.S. bishop who pleaded guilty to failing to report a suspected child abuser, in the first known case of a pope taking action against a bishop for covering up for a guilty priest.
The Vatican said Tuesday that Bishop Robert Finn had offered his resignation under the code of canon law that allows bishops to resign early for illness or some “grave” reason that makes them unfit for office. It didn’t provide a reason; Finn is 62, some 13 years shy of the normal retirement age of 75.
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Catholics in Kansas City — my hometown — will be very happy to learn this news, as was I.