Porno Priest Punished for His Sins

By Yael T. Abouhalkah
Kansas City Star
August 3, 2012

http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/porno-priest-punished-his-sins/

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan has pleaded guilty to charges related to child pornography, staining the reputation of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

Ratigan - a sick older man taking pictures of young children - should be put away for life as punishment for those sins.

But the real test for local Catholics comes in the next month.

After all, Ratigan was just one person going astray, admittedly one of the few that have been identified by name among Catholic priests involved in the abuse of children.

With Ratigan’s guilty pleas, though, attention will turn to the court cases involving Bishop Robert Finn and the diocese.

The essential questions: How much did they know about what Ratigan was doing and how quickly did they try to stop his activities?

Many Catholics have called on Finn to resign, while many others have said he should stay on.

The courts cases, it can be hoped, will provide definitive answers on whether Finn was guilty in his own way of enabling Ratigan’s behavior to continue and to harm innocent children.