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	Parishioners Dismayed, Sympathetic over Bishop's Indictment By Kevin Murphy The Reuters October 14, 2011 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/16/us-crime-bishop-idUSTRE79D58J20111016 (Reuters) - Parishioners at the former church of a priest charged with possessing child pornography voiced dismay yet sympathy on Saturday over their bishop's indictment in connection with the case. A prosecutor charged Robert W. Finn, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, on Friday with failing to report to police that the priest, Shawn Ratigan, had child pornography on his laptop computer. Ratigan used to be the priest at St. Patrick Church, in a quiet, leafy neighborhood of middle-class homes and apartment buildings in north Kansas City. Some parishioners talked briefly about the Finn indictment on their way to mass late Saturday afternoon. "I'm disappointed," said Marguerite Accurso. "Very surprised." But echoing some other parishioners, Accurso said, "I'm not here to judge." Parishioner Tom Zillner said church leaders failing to report sexual abuse by priests had been going on for many years. Finn is just the latest example, he said. "I'm not saying he did the right thing, but he did what he felt was the right way to handle it," Zillner said. Five months passed before Finn reported Ratigan to police, according to the charge against him. Finn said he was not aware at first that the images were pornographic. Accurso and Zillner said they had thought well of Ratigan. Accurso said he was very kind when her husband died. "He didn't seem unusual to me, I kind of liked the guy," Zillner said. The priest saying mass Saturday did not allude to the Ratigan and Finn situation, although his homily was about healing and reconciliation. About 300 people nearly filled the modern, semicircular church. One parishioner, David Thomas, said he was concerned about Ratigan and Finn being charged but remained a faithful churchgoer. "It doesn't have anything to do with that," he said.
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