The outrageousness, really, of the situation with Fr. Ratigan, Bishop Finn and the Catholic Diocese

This whole Father Shawn Ratigan case right now with the local Catholic churches seems so sad, so frustrating, so disappointing and finally, so "more of the same", as far as this church goes, when looked at globally.

It just broke, too, and already, there are some really odd things that have already been reported in the media.  To wit:

--A year ago, a secretary up in St. Joseph reported that she had found questionable material on Ratigan's computer, for starters;

--From the Star today:  The principal of a Catholic school warned a top official of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph more than a year ago that parents and teachers found the Rev. Shawn Ratigan’s behavior toward children troubling, including the hundreds of pictures the priest took.

--More:  The warning came more than six months before the diocese was alerted to questionable images of children on Ratigan’s computer.

--Still more:  Diocese officials learned in December about images on Ratigan’s computer, but they did not file a formal report with police until this month.

--Diocese spokeswoman Rebecca Summers said Monsignor Murphy did get a memo in May 2010 from Hess sharing concerns about Ratigan’s behavior.  “Monsignor Murphy went through each point with Ratigan and set clear boundaries for him,” Summers said.  And yet Ratigan was allowed to continue in his duties as associate pastor.

--Here's yet another odd twist:  Summers said she didn’t know whether Murphy gave the memo to Bishop Robert Finn.  I hope he did and I hope that can be proven.  It's not like this isn't a serious issue. 

It gets worse, too.

--Julie Hess, principal of St. Patrick School in Kansas City, North...said in her letter that concerns about Ratigan surfaced early in the 2009-2010 school year and grew stronger.  The incident that finally prompted her to report Ratigan occurred during a school field trip in May 2010 where Ratigan allegedly allowed a fourth-grade girl to sit on his lap and lean her body against him.  

“He did not immediately move to redirect her; she sat there for at least five minutes, until teachers moved to stand next to him,” Hess wrote.  “All of the teachers (on the trip) spoke with me … about this and other concerns. Four parents have also come forward.”

Concerns about this guy EARLY IN THE 2009-2010 SCHOOL YEAR?


And alarm bells weren't going off with anyone with any responsibility for this guy?

Check out this beauty:

As she (Hess) explained to him the need for physical boundaries, “he interrupted to tell me that little children need to be touched and hugged, and even though ‘they’ advised against it, he felt it was the right thing for kids,” Hess wrote.

“(Ratigan) said he would never hurt a child and all he wants to do is help them all get to heaven.”

Right.  Got that, Father.  For the kids.  So they get to heaven.  Uh-huh.It gets still more bizarre:  

--A parent said she found “a pair of girls’ panties inside one of the planters in Father’s backyard.”

Okay, that's it.  You'd have thought that would have done it, right there, what with all the other issues.  Someone at that point should have looked into this.

Here's another thing odd about this whole thing:  By the Star reporting all this (and admittedly, all of us reprinting it), Ratigan is effectively being tried in public.  (And yes, I admit it's what I'm doing here, I recognize that but hey, it's out there).  It's not new or that unusual or certainly unique but this is all being reported and maybe it should be held for trial.  Just a thought.

Then there's this:

From a parent:  “Father takes hundreds of pictures of the kids, not just during special events, but on field trips and in their everyday school activities. A few parents have mentioned that they think it’s strange and wonder what he does with all the pictures.”

Church officials learned about a number of questionable photos in mid-December when a technician fixing Ratigan’s laptop computer discovered them, according to court documents.

The technician gave the laptop to church leaders. The church then gave the laptop to diocesan officials.

Finn has said he knew about the “very troubling” images months ago but was told they weren’t pornography.

He said the diocese contacted a Kansas City police officer and described one of the more disturbing photos. At the same time, someone with the diocese showed more images to legal counsel.

A police spokesman said diocesan officials reached out to a ranking police officer who serves on a diocesan committee. The officer was not shown the photo or told there were other images.

Wait.  Let me get this straight.  You had cause for concern.  You contacted a police officer.  He's on the Diocesan Council but---you DIDN'T show him the one photo that was MOST REVEALING and YOU DIDN'T TELL HIM THERE WERE OTHER IMAGES?

Are you stupid or did you not really want this looked into?  Which is it because it's got to be one of the two?

We're not done with the "crazy" yet, either:


From the National Catholic Repoter:  Even after the priest attempted suicide, the diocese kept the information surrounding his transfer secret.


Nice job, there, Bishop Finn.

Yet more:


The day after the church was notified about the images in December, Ratigan attempted suicide. Church officials and emergency workers found him unconscious in his closed garage with his motorcycle running.

Ratigan left a suicide note in which he apologized for any harm he had caused the church, according to court records. He was hospitalized for psychiatric care and then sent out of state for a follow-up review.

When he returned to Kansas City, he went to live in a private residence for priests in Independence. Finn ordered him to continue counseling and not to be around children.

In late March, Finn said in a statement last week, he received reports that Ratigan had violated some of the restrictions when he attended the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and had met with friends and families. Ratigan also attended a child’s birthday party at the invitation of the youngster’s parents.

You nearly commit suicide, don't get in trouble, got told to stay away from children and then violate the restrictions of your situation?

That's either stupid or addicted, one.  Wait.  Maybe it's both.


Check out this insanity:


Finn also said that when he assigned Ratigan to the Franciscan sisters residence, he told him he would never have a parish again because "even though he didn't have criminal activity, he had very significant problems."


Excuse me?  Just because you didn't turn it in for examination doesn't, by any means, mean that it wasn't "criminal activity."  Just because you buried your head in the sand doesn't mean nothing happened.


Sadly, it looks to be part of a larger pattern, too, so no one can say anyone locally here is being too picky:


The process followed by officials in the Kansas City case appears to mirror in some ways that followed in Philadelphia, where a Feb. 10 grand jury report cited 37 priests as continuing in ministry in that archdiocese despite what were considered to be credible allegations of abuse.


Here's where it could get interesting:


Following that report, the former secretary of clergy in the archdiocese was arrested for failing to protect children from dangerous priests. Cardinal Justin Rigali also placed 21 other priests on administrative leave March 8 pending review of allegations of abuse.

This being said, above, could not and should not Bishop Finn be arrested for "failing to protect children from dangerous priests"?  I think there are plenty of people who would say yes, absolutely.


Okay, this entry is getting long but there's one last, really kooky, crazy detail to this whole thing:

After all this--after the pictures discovered, the concerns by parents and teachers, the letters and reports and all the both physical evidence and people's opinions, both, PLUS a suicide attempt, etc., Father Shawn Ratigan plead not guilty in Clay County Court.

For being Catholic, Christian and not Jewish, this priest certainly knows the definition of "chutzpah."

Links:  Diocese warned of priest's aberrant behavior one year before arrest

Principal warned diocese about priest more than a year ago
SNAP: Priest's actions raised concerns
Some of the best and most comprehensive information on this situation can be found here, below, at The National Catholic Reporter:

Bishop admits failure in priest's child pornography case