KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
By MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star
The scramble to manage a recanted quote attributed to Kansas City’s Catholic bishop has added a wrinkle to preparations for his trial later this month, lawyers said Friday.
Julie Creech, the computer systems manager for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, now contends that “Sometimes boys will be boys” no longer is her recollection of how Bishop Robert Finn responded in December 2010 to her concerns about how the church was managing the Rev. Shawn Ratigan and child pornography issues.
But experts said she has few real options for expunging the potentially damaging observation from her Aug. 17 deposition in a related civil case against the priest, the bishop and the diocese. And she could have to explain the statement again if she testifies at Finn’s trial for allegedly failing to report child abuse.
Finn and the diocese are scheduled to go to trial Sept. 24 on misdemeanor charges of failing to tell authorities that they suspected Ratigan of abusing children. State prosecutors have identified Creech as a witness in their case.
Unlike an elementary school playground, there are no take-backs in depositions, said Tony Miller, a criminal defense lawyer and former assistant Jackson County prosecutor.
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