Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert Finn, who led the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, and was convicted of failure to report suspected child abuse in 2012, the Vatican said in a statement Tuesday.

At the time of his conviction, Finn was the highest-ranking Catholic official to be convicted during the church's long sexual abuse scandal.

He was put on two years of probation for failure to report suspected child abuse but was not forced to spend time in jail or pay a fine, the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said.

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