By Glenn E. Rice
Kansas City Star
June 10, 2011
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/09/2939890/diocese-names-former-us-attorney.html
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After enduring three weeks of criticism over its response to sex crimes allegations, the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese on Thursday appointed a former U.S. attorney to investigate how it handled such cases.
Bishop Robert W. Finn said the appointment was one of five points in a sweeping plan to deal with recent alleged sexual misconduct in the diocese.
Todd Graves, who was U.S. attorney for western Missouri, has been named to conduct an independent investigation of issues related to a priest charged with possessing child pornography.
In addition, Graves will lead a review of the diocesan ethical code of conduct and sexual misconduct policies.
Diocesan officials said the review is expected to take 30 to 45 days, and will be released to the public.
“These are initial steps,” Finn said in a statement. “Other actions are forthcoming.”
Although some critics expressed doubts that the review would be effective, Graves said he was eager to get started.
Graves, who is not Catholic, said he met Finn for the first time on Tuesday when he was asked to conduct the independent review.
“They want to make this a model diocese for the rest of the country,” Graves said.
The initial five-point plan:
•Immediately appoint Graves to investigate how the diocese handled the matter of the Rev. Shawn F. Ratigan, other sex abuse allegations, and church policies and procedures.
•Appoint an independent public liaison and ombudsman to field and investigate any reports of suspicious or inappropriate behavior by church staff and clergy. The ombudsman also would consult with law enforcement and would be accessible by phone or e-mail.
•Reaffirm the current diocesan policy. Graves would review the church’s Ethical Codes of Conduct and Sexual Misconduct.
•Conduct an in-depth review of diocesan staff training on the ethics code and sexual misconduct policy.
•Require diocesan staff and clergy to cooperate with law enforcement investigating abuse allegations.
The diocese has come under sharp criticism since Ratigan was charged last month with possessing child pornography.
Ratigan, 45, of Kansas City, North, is charged in Clay County with three counts of possessing child pornography — photos taken while working for churches and schools in the area. Ratigan has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody, with bond set at $200,000.
In recent weeks, Finn acknowledged that he did not heed past warnings about Ratigan’s behavior and expressed regret about the handling of the case.
A principal of a Catholic school in Kansas City, North, warned the diocese a year ago about Ratigan’s troubling behavior around girls. In December, the diocese removed Ratigan from his parish after images were found on his laptop computer and he tried to commit suicide.
But the diocese did not officially notify police until last month.
A week ago, the diocese announced that Finn had removed another priest from his duties because of “credible reports” of sexual misconduct with minors.
David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said he doubted the five-point plan would bring about change.
“It is like giving cold medication to a cancer patient,” Clohessy said. “Policies and procedures don’t protect kids. Decisive action protects kids and that is still lacking.”
Clohessy said the appointment of an ombudsman was “a desperate move to get victims, witnesses and whistle-blowers to call the church instead of the police.”
On Wednesday, SNAP sent a demand letter, asking diocesan officials whether they had complied with a number of agreed-upon reforms that were designed to protect children from possible abuse. The reforms were part of a $10 million settlement in 2008 that involved 47 plaintiffs.
A lawyer who filed a federal lawsuit last week naming Ratigan and diocese officials also expressed doubt about the bishop’s plan.
“This is the same thing we have seen over and over again,” Rebecca Randles said.
“We would suggest revamping the current policy is a good idea,” she said, but added, “Any policy needs to be so specific that all discretion is eliminated.”
But Finn said the review would bring clarity out of the “shame, anger, and confusion.”
“In addition to our ongoing and full cooperation with law enforcement, this review will help us to determine the effectiveness of diocesan policies and procedures in a very troubling situation,” Finn said in the statement.
Diocesan spokeswoman Rebecca Summers said the diocese already participates in annual audits conducted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection. Those audits, Summers said, are done by an outside firm.
“We think this might be the first independent investigation done by an outside counsel,” Summers said.
Graves was told to “leave no stone unturned,” which allows him to examine how diocesan officials handled the Ratigan matter and other child abuse allegations.
“We want to know what happened, we also want to know why and how it happened,” Summers said. “Should there be any recommendation to arise from this independent investigation, we want to implement those so that it does not happen again.”
Jim Caccamo, chairman of the diocese independent review board, was initially critical of how diocesan officials failed to promptly respond to the Ratigan allegations, but on Thursday said the appointment of an outside investigator was an excellent effort.
“It is going to go a long way at getting at these issues and to make sure everything appropriate is done to protect children,” Caccamo said. “We don’t want any reports out there that we don’t know about.
“I think the bishop has done a good job.”
Graves has a long track record of prosecuting child pornography and exploitation cases.
After becoming U.S. attorney in September 2001, he announced that those cases were his top local prosecution priority. Within a year he had established the Computer Crimes and Child Exploitation Unit to manage the surge in prosecutions.
By 2005, federal prosecutors in western Missouri filed more criminal child exploitation cases than all but five of the 93 federal districts, and the most of any district east of the Rocky Mountains.
Go to KansasCity.com for a video of Bishop Robert W. Finn talking about the plan.
To reach Glenn E. Rice, call 816-234-4341 or send email to grice@kcstar.com
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