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Washington, United States:
It's high time for the Vatican to tackle the case of an American bishop convicted of shielding an abusive priest, Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley has said.
In an interview to air Sunday on CBS television's "60 Minutes" current affairs program, O'Malley said "the Holy See needs to urgently address" the question of Bishop Robert Finn.
"There is a recognition of that from Pope Francis," added O'Malley, a close advisor to the pontiff and a member of a Vatican commission looking into Church child abuse worldwide.
Finn is still head of the Catholic diocese in Kansas City, Missouri two years after he pleaded guilty to failing to tell police that one of his priests was sexually abusing a minor.
The Vatican put Finn, who was sentenced to two years under probation, under investigation in September.
But O'Malley said that under the Church's zero tolerance policy on sex abuse, Finn "wouldn't be allowed to teach Sunday school in Boston."
The Church in the United States has struggled since the 1980s to put allegations of child abuse by members of its clergy behind it, even after paying out nearly $3 billion in compensation payments.
Highlights of O'Malley's interview with "60 Minutes" were released Friday.
In an interview to air Sunday on CBS television's "60 Minutes" current affairs program, O'Malley said "the Holy See needs to urgently address" the question of Bishop Robert Finn.
"There is a recognition of that from Pope Francis," added O'Malley, a close advisor to the pontiff and a member of a Vatican commission looking into Church child abuse worldwide.
Finn is still head of the Catholic diocese in Kansas City, Missouri two years after he pleaded guilty to failing to tell police that one of his priests was sexually abusing a minor.
The Vatican put Finn, who was sentenced to two years under probation, under investigation in September.
But O'Malley said that under the Church's zero tolerance policy on sex abuse, Finn "wouldn't be allowed to teach Sunday school in Boston."
The Church in the United States has struggled since the 1980s to put allegations of child abuse by members of its clergy behind it, even after paying out nearly $3 billion in compensation payments.
Highlights of O'Malley's interview with "60 Minutes" were released Friday.
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