15/10/2011 15:03
Catholic bishop charged in alleged porn cover-up
Kansas City's Roman Catholic bishop has become the highest-ranking church official charged in the United States in the long-running clergy sexual abuse scandal, accused of failing to report suspected child abuse involving a priest's photographs of young naked girls, the Reuters reports.
Prosecutors in Jackson County, Missouri, said on Friday that Bishop Robert Finn, 58, became aware of child pornography images on the laptop computer of Reverend Shawn Ratigan in December 2010 but failed to appropriately notify police or state child abuse authorities for five months.
Finn's lawyer entered a plea of not guilty in court on Friday and the bishop issued a statement saying he would fight the misdemeanor charge -- which carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine -- "with a steady resolve and a vigorous defense."