By Marco Tosatti
Vatican Insider
October 16, 2011
http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/world-news/detail/articolo/kansas-city-pedofilia-paedophilia-vescovo-bishop-obispos-9022/
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| Kansas City |
The tension between the various levels of the American civil administration and the Catholic Church is rising, while the areas of conflict multiply. For the first time, a Bishop, Robert Finn, of the Catholic diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has been incriminated by the Court of Jackson County with the charge of poor handling of a case of abuses. The accusations originate from an old controversy related to a priest, Shawn Ratigan, accused of possession of pedophile-pornographic material by Clay County and by the Federal Court. Jean Peters Baker, public prosecutor of Jackson County wanted to highlight the uniqueness of the event, "It is a serious accusation," he stated, "an accusation of this kind was never made to date, as far as I know."
The diocese already stated that its defense attorneys have already filed a "not guilty" statement and the same was done by the priest, according by Gerald Handley and J.R. Hobbs, who represent him. "Bishop Finn denies any criminal conduct and cooperated in full with the Grand Jury, the public prosecutor's office and the Graves commission so that the law could be applied," his attorney, Handley, stated, "We will continue our efforts to resolve this matter."
The core issue is related to the timing of the investigation. Thomas Reese, a famous Jesuit and often a critic of the church institutions highlighted the news of the accusation, "For a Bishop to be indicted it is truly an extraordinary event. It is the first time it ever happened. And in terms of the Catholic Church it is an extraordinary gesture that gives a signal that times have changed. Neither the people, nor the government are available to tolerate any behavior that may even look like a cover up."
Jean Peters Baker stated with emphasis that the legal move is the result of an investigation led by the Grand Jury. "I did my best," said a woman, "to make sure this trial is fair. This has nothing to do with the Catholic faith. It only concerns the facts and how they developed and the protection of children."
The Bishop and the diocese, according to the accusation, had reasons to believe that Ratigan could have been dangerous for children, but between December 16, 2010 and May 11, 2011 they had not reported him to the authorities. Proof of their concern about Ratigan's behavior around children was the suspicions they held and the discovery in December 2010 of hundreds of pictures of children on Ratigan's laptop, including some clearly of a sick nature. The Bishop and the diocese had to have concerns about Ratigan because after the discovery of the images he was prohibited from having interaction with minors. A representative of the diocese, on May 11, 2011 filed a report to the civilian authorities.
It doesn't seem, upon examination of the facts, that there was any intent to cover-up the events, rather the need to verify suspicions and particularly serious accusations, damaging to the image and to the life of the accused. However, a law of the State makes it mandatory for everyone, without distinction, to report any possible abuse of minors, if there is a suspicion.
The Grand Jury did not indict Monsignor Robert Murphy, the Vicar-General of the Diocese and second in command, who handled the majority of the diocese's activities concerning the Ratigan case. Like the Bishop, Murphy cooperated with the authorities investigating the case, and he appeared at least twice before the Grand Jury. The accusation against the diocese, therefore, is that of having known for five months of the existence of suspicious pictures of young girls on Ratigan's computer and not having immediately notified the authorities.
2011_10_16_Tosatti_FirstAmerican.htm In May 2010, a manager of a Catholic School filed a complaint with the diocese concerning what he saw as Ratigan's improper behavior with the students. The superiors ordered to Ratigan to behave properly. In December, personnel of the diocese found the pictures on Ratigan's computer; the diocese stated of having contacted a police officer and described the main pictures, asking if they were pedophile-pornographic pictures and the answer was that they were not. The police confirmed that Captain Richard Smith gave his opinion, but he never saw the pictures.
The diocese removed Ratigan from his pastoral duties at the Church of St.Patrick and sent him to live in a missionary house in Independence. According to the accusations, while he was there, he tried to take pornographic pictures of a 12 year old girl. The accusation against him is to be in possession – and of having tried to produce – pornographic pictures. After Ratigan's arrest, Bishop Finn publicly apologized for his mismanagement of the case. Last month, an investigation commissioned by the diocese and led by the former public prosecutor Todd Graves, found out that the diocesan leaders failed to follow the procedures they had established in case of sexual abuses.
“Individuals in charge reacted to the facts in a fashion that could have endangered the safety of children in schools, families and parishes of the diocese.” Graves noticed that the investigation identified “inaction, failures and confusing procedures, but we are certain that Bishop Finn and the diocese leadership realize the seriousness of the problem and that they will take these recommendations seriously.” The diocese published Graves’ investigation and Finn described the recommendations as “detailed, ponderous and thorough. We understand their importance and we are focusing on them and the volunteers with the purpose of ensuring the safety of our children today and in the future,” the Bishop said. The maximum penalty would be one year in jail and a 1,000 dollar fine for Finn and 5,000 dollar fine for the diocese.
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