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	Catholics Fume at Bishop Who Took Months to Name Abusive Priest Digitial Journal August 15, 2011 http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/310373 Catholics in Kansas City, Missouri are aghast that a bishop who was aware that a priest in his care was taking indecent pictures of young girls, as recently as four months ago during an Easter Egg Hunt, but did not turn him in to police until May. At the center of the maelstrom is Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph who admits that he has known about the inappropriate photographs since last December. The New York Times reports that the civil lawsuit filed last week claims that in the five months since he was reported, the Reverend Shawn Ratigan was a participant at children's birthday parties, spent weekends at the homes of parish families, hosted the Easter Egg hunt, and then presided, with the bishop's permission, at a girl's First Communion. Thu Meng's daughter attended the preschool in Father Ratigan's last parish, “All these parishioners just feel so betrayed, because we knew nothing. And we were welcoming this guy into our homes, asking him to come bless this or that. They saw all these signs, and they didn’t do anything.” Enraged parents and the community have issued widespread calls for Bishop Finn to resign or even to be prosecuted. They now have a Facebook page called “Bishop Finn Must Go” and are circulating a petition. Further enraging Missouri Catholics is the fact that just three years ago, Bishop Finn settled lawsuits with 47 victims of sexual abuse cases for $10 million and agreed on paper to a long list of preventive measures, among them to immediately report anyone suspected of being a pedophile to law enforcement authorities. The Kansas City Star published this response from the Bishop in May, “In mid-December of 2010, I was told that a personal computer belonging to Fr. Shawn Ratigan was found to have many images of female children. Most of these were images of children at public or parish events. I was told that there were also some small number of images that were much more disturbing, images of an unclothed child who was not identifiable because her face was not visible. The very next day, we contacted a Kansas City, Missouri Police officer and described one of the more disturbing images. At the same time the diocese showed the images to legal counsel. In both instances we were told that, while very troubling, the photographs did not constitute child pornography as they did not depict sexual conduct or contact. Immediately after the diocese became aware of these images, Shawn Ratigan attempted suicide. In the week or so after this, Shawn Ratigan survived his suicide attempt and became conscious. He went from the Medical Center to a Psychiatric Unit until it seemed that the risk of another suicide attempt was minimized." The bishop has apologized and released a “five-point plan” that he described as “sweeping changes.” The bishop also replaced the vicar general involved in the case, Msgr. Robert Murphy, after he was accused of propositioning a young man in 1984. Bishop Finn, appointed in 2005, is proud of his traditionalist theological views. He is one of few bishops affiliated with the conservative movement known as Opus Dei. The Civil lawsuit against Father Ratigan says that the Diocese first learned of his inappropriate interest in young girls in 2006. But more recently In May of 2010, the principal of a Catholic elementary school where Father Ratigan worked hand-delivered a letter to the vicar general reporting specific incidents that had raised alarms: the priest had put a girl on his lap during a bus ride and allowed children to reach into his pants pockets for candy. When a Brownie troop visited Father Ratigan’s house, a parent reported finding a pair of girl’s panties in a planter. In December, a computer technician discovered the photographs on Father Ratigan’s laptop and turned it in to the diocese. After Father Ratigan's suicide attempt, he was sent to live at a convent within the diocese, where, the lawsuit and the indictment indicate, he continued to have contact with young children. Last Tuesday, a federal grand jury handed down an indictment against Father Ratigan charging him with 13 counts of possessing, producing and attempting to produce child pornography. It accuses him of taking lewd pictures of the genitalia of five girls ages 2 to 12, sometimes while they slept. If convicted, he will face a minimum 15 years in prison.
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