By Judy L. Thomas and Glenn E. Rice
Kansas City Star
September 1, 2011
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/01/3114466/report-diocese-failed-to-follow.html
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| Bishop Robert Finn |
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| Ratigan |
[the report]
Leaders of the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese failed to follow their own policies and procedures in responding to reports of child sexual abuse, an investigation by a former federal prosecutor has found.
The report lists numerous recommendations for how the diocese can better protect children.
Todd Graves, who led the investigation, said in a statement:
"Our investigation identified shortcomings, inaction and confusing procedures, but we believe Bishop Finn and the leadership of the diocese understand the gravity of the issues and take these recommendations seriously."
The diocese released the findings today in a 141-page report compiled by Graves' law firm, which was hired by Bishop Robert Finn in June to evaluate how the diocese handles allegations against priests.
The diocese called for the investigation after enduring harsh criticism for failing to take immediate action when it first learned of troubling behavior involving the Rev. Shawn Ratigan.
Ratigan was charged in May with three counts of possession of child pornography in Clay County. Federal grand jurors later charged him with 13 counts of production, attempted production and possession of child porn.
A Jackson County grand jury, currently underway, is believed to be investigating how the diocese itself handled the Ratigan case.
Finn said in a statement today that the recommendations were "comprehensive, thoughtful and detailed."
"We understand their importance and are focusing on them so we establish clear, strong and unequivocal procedures for all diocesan personnel and volunteers that ensure the safety of our children today and into the future," Finn said.
Critics responded swiftly to the report.
"Bishop Finn got what he paid for here: A misleading barrage of words that suggests some minor 'tweaks' in church policies will fix everything," said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
"These lawyers chalk up months of repeatedly self-serving secretive decisions by several top Catholic officials to just a few misunderstandings and miscommunications. That's balderdash."
The Graves investigation was part of a five-point plan the diocese announced in June to address concerns of alleged sexual misconduct among its priests.
The investigation focused its response on reports of abuse by Ratigan and the Rev. Michael Tierney. The probe also looked at diocesan training programs that deal with preventing and reporting child abuse, and the effectiveness of the diocesan ethical code of conduct and sexual misconduct policies.
The report found that the diocese:
• The gatekeeping function in addressing child abuse reports became consolidated into a single office, the vicar general.
• In the Ratigan case, Vicar General Robert Murphy conducted his own limited and improperly conceived investigation instead of referring the case to its Independent Review Board in a timely manner.
• Diocesan leaders relied on the judgments of others instead of its own review board.
• Finn misplaced his trust in Ratigan when the priest agreed to comply with restrictions the bishop placed on him
Among the report's recommendations:
• Volunteers or employees of the diocese who receive a report of current abuse involving a minor must report the allegations to police and the Missouri Division of Family Services, even if they aren't mandated reporters.
• The diocesan ombudsman must be notified of allegations of both current and past sexual abuse of minors. The ombudsman also should be notified of allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and boundary violations.
• The ombudsman should immediately investigate all allegations.
• All allegations must be passed on to the Independent Review Board so it can determine their credibility and make a recommendation to the bishop. Some reviews of allegations will be expedited while the accused priest is placed on administrative leave.
• The diocese needs to do more to offer support to victims and to notify the public about priests who have been removed from ministry because of credible allegations against them.
The report was critical of actions by both Finn and Murphy in their handling of the cases of Ratigan and of the Rev. Michael Tierney, a priest who was removed from ministry in June because of what the diocese said were credible accusations against him.
Murphy, who was named vicar general when Finn took over as bishop in 2005, until recently had handled the diocese's sex abuse complaints against priests and was on the diocesan review board that assesses allegations against priests.
In June, the bishop replaced Murphy in his role of handling complaints against priests and also removed him from the review board. The action came two weeks after The Kansas City Star reported that Murphy himself had been accused of past sexual improprieties.
The diocese came under a barrage of criticism when Ratigan was charged in May with possessing child pornography.
After Ratigan's arrest, it was revealed that the principal of a Catholic school in Kansas City, North, had warned the diocese a year earlier 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 returned Ratigan to ministry earlier this year after he agreed to stay away from children, and did not officially notify police until May.
According to the Graves report:
"The flaws relating to Ratigan were more serious because neither Murphy nor Finn, nor others with knowledge brought the matter to the full IRB (Independent Review Board) until after the arrest. Absent IRB guidance, Murphy conducted a limited and improperly conceived investigation which focused on whether a specific image on Ratigan's laptop, which held hundreds of troubling images, met the definition of 'child pornography.' "
According to the report, in December Murphy verbally asked a police captain who is a member of the review board whether one of the images found on Ratigan's laptop constituted child pornography.
The report also said that instead of referring the Ratigan concerns to the review board, Murphy "allowed two technical answers to his limited questions to satisfy the diocese's duty of diligent inquiry."
"Relying on those responses, he failed to timely turn over the laptop to the police," the report said. "Although Bishop Finn was unaware of some important facts learned by Monsignor Murphy or that the police had never actually seen the pictures, the Bishop erred in trusting Father Ratigan to abide by restrictions the Bishop had placed on his interaction with children after the discovery of the laptop and Father Ratigan's attempted suicide."
Finn previously acknowledged that he did not heed past warnings about Ratigan's behavior and expressed regret about the handling of the case.
Today, Finn said the decision to hire Graves' law firm to conduct the investigation was necessary "to help me make the changes I promised on May 27."
"The Graves report affirms the decision to establish and appoint an Ombudsman," Finn said. "Jennifer Valenti, appointed Ombudsman in late June, is an experienced prosecutor and possesses the authority as gatekeeper to receive and investigate, independently, any complaint involving the sexual abuse of minors."
The investigation took 60 days to complete, with Graves' team interviewing more than 50 witnesses and examining thousands of pages of documents and emails that the diocese made available, according to the report.
Graves, former United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri who has a long track record of prosecuting child pornography and exploitation cases, said the diocese cooperated with his team.
"Bishop Finn pledged to make all diocesan employees and records available for a complete and searching review," Graves said. "Diocesan employees, clergy, and counsel cooperated fully in the investigation and made a good faith effort to fulfill that pledge."
Contact: jthomas@kcstar.com
Contact: grice@kcstar.com
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