BishopAccountability.org
	S.n.a.p. Protests Former St. Joseph Priest By Edward Burch The St. Joe Channel July 20, 2011 http://stjoechannel.com/fulltext-news?nxd_id=212917 [with video] Outside Bishop LeBlond High School, Barbara Dorris, Victims Outreach Director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest (S.N.A.P.), is speaking out against former St. Joseph priest, Shawn Ratigan, and how the diocese handled his removal. "Our fear is that there are more and that he was not open and honest about father Shawn Ratigan, having known about these crimes for over a year and not taking any action," Dorris said. Back in May, police say illicit photos of children were found on Ratigan's computer. He was arrested and charged with three counts of possessing child pornography. Ratigan is a former St. Joseph priest who worked at Bishop LeBlond and St. Mary's Parish. New incriminating photos have since surfaced in the case against Ratigan. Kansas City police say the images were stored on a computer in an Independence home where Ratigan lived. Now, S.N.A.P. wants Buchanan County Prosecutor Dwight Scroggins to open a grand jury investigation into possible other misconduct by the former priest. "We feel the response is to be open and honest about what has taken place and to say to people you need to contact law enforcement, not church officials, you need to contact law enforcement," Dorris said. The Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City and St. Joseph said in a statement that they were not contacted by S.N.A.P. regarding the protest and they encourage anyone who might have been abused or with any information about Shawn Ratigan to contact Maggie McGwuire with the Joint Task Force at 816-584-6633.
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