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	Attorney to Conduct Review of Diocese St. Joseph News-Press June 9, 2011 http://www.newspressnow.com/localnews/28185701/detail.html Former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves will conduct an independent review of issues regarding the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, the priest who was charged with child pornography last month. Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph said the review is part of a plan to deal with recent allegations of sexual misconduct in the diocese. Church officials have drawn criticism for failing to act quickly after allegations of improper behavior came to light months and even years before the Ratigan matter was turned over to law enforcement this spring. Bishop Finn said the review will bring clarity out of the “shame, anger, and confusion” surrounding the May 19 arrest of the Rev. Ratigan, who previously served as parochial administrator for St. Mary Church in St. Joseph and St. Joseph Mission in Easton, Mo. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Graves served as the national co-chair of the Department of Justice Child Exploitation Working Group. Other elements of the diocese plan outlined by the bishop include: appointment of an independent public liaison and ombudsman to investigate reports of suspicious or inappropriate behavior; an independent review of the policies for sexual misconduct; a review of personnel training regarding ethics and sexual misconduct; and cooperation with local law enforcement. “These are initial steps. Other actions are forthcoming,” the bishop said in a release. A civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Kansas City alleges that beginning in 2006, the Rev. Ratigan took sexually explicit photographs of young girls. The suit said the bishop and diocesan officials failed to take action against the priest. The Rev. Ratigan was charged last month in Clay County on three counts of possessing child pornography. Court documents allege he possessed “up-skirt” and nude photos taken in and around churches and schools.
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