By Bridgette P. Lavictoire
Lez Get Real
November 16, 2011
lezgetreal.com/2011/11/kansas-bishop-finn-enters-diversion-in-illegal-child-photo-scandal/
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Bishop Robert Finn has been granted something of a reprieve when it comes to his misdemeanor indictment stemming from his handling of a priest who is facing child pornography charges. He has agreed to enter a diversion program. The agreement is that Finn, who heads the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, will not face prosecution if he finishes the five-year diversion agreement.
Reverend Shawn F. Ratigan has been indicted on three counts of possessing child pornography. Finn failed to report Ratigan for several months after it was discovered that he had child porn on his computer. The indictment was announced by Clay County Prosecutor Daniel L. White, and this indictment now supercedes the state's criminal complaint against Ratigan. The 46-year-old priest also faces thirteen federal counts of possessing, producing, and attempting to produce child pornography. He is currently in Federal custody.
The Clay County indictments allege that Ratigan possessed three images of child pornography on his computer on 13 May. Each of those three counts is considered a Class-C felony and carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison and fines of up to $5000.
The agreement that Finn reached with Clay County will require him to meet face-to-face each month with White every month for the next five years to discuss and report any allegations of child sex abuse levied against clergy or diocesan staff. Finn will also describe the steps that the diocese is taking to address the allegations, and white would decide whether to have the police investigate the allegations.
White issued a statement saying that "This will be a learning experience for the Bishop. "The diocese and the bishop acknowledge past reporting systems have flaws." He also feels that having an outsider involved in determining if there should be a criminal investigation "gives parents and children in our community confidence that if anything were to happen it would promptly and effectively address."
Finn was in Baltimore attending the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' annual fall conference, but issued a statement saying "grateful for this opportunity to resolve this matter and to further strengthen our diocesan commitment to the protection of children. . ."The children of our community must be our first priority. Each deserves no more and no less. I stand ready to do all within my power not only to satisfy this agreement but also to ensure the welfare and safety of all children under our care."
The USCCB conference spent the bulk of their time setting up anti-LGBT, anti-woman and anti-abortion initiatives and spent very little time on children, the needy and the poor.
Bill O'Connor of the Rainbow Sash Movement said, regarding the Finn diversion agreement, "We would of loved see Finn end up in jail for a while to send a loud and clear message to his fellow bishops. However, as part of the settlement the prosecutors were given complete oversight of the diocese for the next five years when it comes to reports of complaints of child sexual abuse. This decision I believe was done in the best interest of protecting children in the Diocese, and we support it. This is a first for a Catholic Bishop to give a secular authority control over part of his diocese. I will be interested to see how the Vatican responds to the settlement. We find it interesting that USCCB is completely ignoring the indictment, but I am sure it is sending a shiver up their spines."
O'Connor went on to point out that "Penn State has brought into focus that a least University Officials have fired individuals over this issue. We are now in the 10th year of the clergy sexual abuse scandal since it erupted in Boston and not one bishop has been removed, or even prosecuted. On the contrary Cardinal Law formerly of the Archdiocese of Boston was forced to resigned because of the part he played in the clerical cover up, only to be promoted by the Vatican to a cushion job in the Roman Curie. We hope the climate of privilege that has protected these bishops thus far is beginning to crumble. It is our hope that Finn's indictment will embolden other prosecutors to take similar actions."
Jared Shepherd of Jeff Andersons & Associates stated that "It is a sad situation that institutions such as the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph must be caught in inevitable public scandals before top officials will even contemplate behavioral changes. Moreover, in the aftermath of such scandals, it is hard to believe that these entities must then be forced by law enforcement to live up to their responsibility to protect children."
Finn has pledged close collaboration between him, the diocesan ombudsman and the new director of child and youth protection. The youth protection director oversees child safety training programs for all 27 counties that are part of the diocese. Until recently, that was Monsignor Robert Murphy, but he was replaced after unproven charges of sexual misconduct surfaced regarding him.
Finn and the diocese have denied wrongdoing in this case despite admitting to not reporting this to the police back in December, and waiting six months to actually report it.
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