Colleen Simon was a food pantry coordinator for a Catholic parish in Kansas City, MO. Take it away, National Catholic Reporter:
Simon was fired May 14, two weeks after she appeared among more than a dozen others in a an extensive story in the Kansas City Star's 816 Magazine spotlighting revitalization efforts by various businesses, community groups and churches along Troost Avenue, a historical dividing line in the city on which St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit parish, sits.
The story featured Simon's work in the parish food pantry and, separately, the work of her spouse, the Rev. Donna Simon of St. Mark Hope and Peace Lutheran Church, also situated along Troost. Buried in the 79th paragraph, the story mentions Colleen's and Donna's marriage; so does a caption for a photo of Colleen Simon in the food pantry.
The couple married May 19, 2012, in Iowa after meeting in 2010 at a community organizing conference in Pennsylvania. At the time, Colleen Simon worked for the Richmond, Va., diocese in its peace and justice office. A Catholic of 53 years, Simon converted to Lutheranism upon marriage. She has two children from a previous marriage.
She told NCR she was unaware that her relationship would become part of the story and said she discussed her marriage with only a small group of co-workers and parishioners at St. Francis Xavier.
"There were no pictures in my office. There's no rainbow flag in my office, there's no rainbow flag on my bumper, so it wasn't something that I publicized," she said.
Interestingly, Simon is not suing the parish itself. She is suing the diocese and its bishop, Robert Finn.
Finn is odious. He was tried and convicted of shielding a pedophile priest 22 months ago, and as such is currently on court-supervised probation. But yet he remains at the top of his diocese, despite his parishioners asking the Vatican to remove him. NCR 2/18/14
Catholics here formally asking Pope Francis to conduct a canonical review of Bishop Robert Finn say the church's lack of response to his misdemeanor conviction has caused further spiritual harm to the diocese.
"Civil law has done what civil law can do. The church has done nothing in terms of calling Bishop Finn to accountability. He continues as bishop as if nothing really ever happened," said Mercy Sr. Jeanne Christensen, a former victims' advocate for the diocese co-heading the appeal. She spoke at a press conference Monday outside the diocesan offices.
The Kansas City Catholics' petition, dated Feb. 11, represents a formal request that the Vatican initiate a penal process to determine whether Finn violated church law by failing to report suspected child sexual abuse in connection to Fr. Shawn Ratigan.
In September, Ratigan was sentenced to 50 years in prison on child pornography charges; a year earlier, a Jackson County, Mo., court convicted Finn of a misdemeanor for failing to report and sentenced him to two years of probation. To avoid a similar charge in Clay County, Mo., Finn entered an agreement that requires him to meet monthly with the county prosecutor for five years.
"This lack of action by the Catholic Church to do justice and to repair scandal contributes to the ongoing scandal among the faithful that is a result of the Catholic clergy sexual abuse crisis," wrote Fr. James Connell in the formal appeal.
Pope Francis' refusal to remove him is incomprehensible. There is absolutely no excuse for it.