Debate over the bishop’s next steps seems to have split the clergy of 70 active priests and 32 retired ones along generational lines. Older priests generally urge the bishop to step aside, and younger ones tend to back him.

The divisions date to seven years ago, when Bishop Finn took over the diocese and implemented broad changes in a variety of areas, from the tone of the diocesan newspaper to the way priests celebrate Mass. Supporters praised him, saying that he brought the diocese more in line with church teaching. But detractors accused him of wielding power unilaterally, and described him as aloof and defensive.

Critics are troubled by the silence of church leaders in the United States and Rome.

Bishop Finn attended the most recent meeting of the American bishops, in Baltimore in November — the first since his conviction — but no bishop addressed the matter publicly. Asked to comment on Friday on Bishop Finn’s situation, the chairman of the bishops’ child protection committee, Bishop R. Daniel Conlon, of Joliet, Ill., declined.

Only the pope can remove a bishop from office. Several priests in Kansas City have written to Pope Benedict XVI’s representative in the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, calling for Bishop Finn to resign. The archbishop did not respond to an e-mail requesting his comments.

Regardless of where the diocese’s priests stand on the bishop, most find themselves stuck between a bishop they want to see succeed and angry parishioners.

Weekly giving at parishes is down slightly across the diocese, and priests said some of their members were reluctant to donate because they did not want their contributions going toward the bishop or the diocese’s central administration. Parishioners have been turned off, priests said, not only by the bishop’s actions but also by the fiscal obligations of the diocese. These include the almost $1.4 million spent on the bishop’s and the diocese’s legal fees and the potential payouts that will result from the dozens of pending civil suits.

The survey sought to determine whether the priests believed the new fund-raising drive to build a high school could be successful. About 65 percent of them recommended delaying the drive. Seven priests suggested a new bishop was necessary to be successful.