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	The Star’s Editorial | a Sorry New Chapter in Church Child Abuse Kansas City Star May 21, 2011 http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/20/2890744/the-stars-editorial-a-sorry-new.html The disturbing news that a Kansas City priest has been charged with possessing child pornography adds another chapter in the sorry chronicle of child abuse by Catholic priests. The case again raises the question of whether the church’s first priority is to protect victims — or priests. In December, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph was notified of pornographic images on the laptop of Shawn Francis Ratigan, 45. Yet a police investigation didn’t begin until this month. Court documents said a computer technician found the images — showing girls as young as 3 or 4 — on a laptop Ratigan turned in for repair. Later, similar images were found on a desktop computer assigned to Ratigan at a St. Joseph church where he had previously served. Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, outreach director for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, accused the diocese of breaking its pledge to act quickly and cooperate with authorities. “What on earth were they thinking?” Dorris said in a statement. “It’s clear that a number of church employees, including the diocesan lawyer, knew of the evidence and were involved in concealing it week after week after week.” In a statement Friday, Bishop Robert W. Finn said the diocese made contact with the police the day after it learned of the images but was told the pictures were not child pornography. After Ratigan attempted suicide, Finn ordered an evaluation and prohibited the priest from contact with minors. But after Ratigan violated those terms, the diocese contacted police and an investigation found more images on the second computer. Finn said he regrets not seeking a full investigation earlier. From the earliest days of the Catholic Church’s abuse scandal, the most disturbing theme has been the church’s efforts to underplay the problem. It cropped up again in a recent study on the causes of abuse, by New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The study relied on data provided by the church, which victims’ advocates say has underreported the number of cases. The study also defined “prepubescent” as children under 10, even though the American Psychiatric Association puts the cutoff as age 13 or younger. Using its questionable definition, the study said only 22 percent of abuse victims were prepubescent. The Ratigan case will work its way through the court process. But recent events have created a scenario that further undermines the church’s credibility and moral authority.
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