Bishop Finn is charged for failing to report a priest who kept pornographic pictures of girl children under the diocese on his computer. The defense of Bishop Finn argued that charges against him be dropped as he had no duty to report to the authorities of the alleged abuse by another priest. But, Jackson County Circuit Judge John Terence rejected the arguments and held that Bishop Finn had a duty to report after church officials found pictures of naked girl children on the computer of Father Shawn Ratigan.
The judge held, “The court finds that the evidence in this case is sufficient to allow a jury to conclude that Bishop Finn was a designated reporter as defined by Missouri law.”
Church officials first discovered the lurid photos on Father Ratigan’s computer in December 2010, and then they took months looking at the pictures and deciding whether the offense was sufficient to report to the police or not. When the church officials confronted Ratigan in 2010, he tried to commit suicide, but failed.
Then church officials sent Father Ratigan to Bishop Finn for psychological assessment and for order to stay away from children. Bishop Finn could not make up his mind whether he should turn in Father Ratigan or not, and ultimately the police was tipped off by another church official in May 2011, after more than five months had passed from Ratigan being exposed. Ultimately prosecutors charged Ratigan with 13 counts of child pornography based upon recovered evidence, and he is now in jail awaiting trial.
However, as indicated by evidence, and as alleged by the parents of victims, Father Ratigan continued to take pornographic photographs of young girls connected to the diocese until shortly before his arrest, and he was able to do so because Bishop Finn chose neither to notify the parents, nor to notify the police.
Both Bishop Finn and the Diocese were indicted by a grand jury in October for failing to report Ratigan. Both pleaded not guilty, and on Thursday, the defense lawyers had their arguments of ‘no liability’ shredded by the court.
When the media tried to contact the Diocese, spokeswoman Rebecca Summers chose silence in “deference to the solemnity of Holy Week.”
The case is State of Missouri v. Finn in the Jackson County, Missouri, Circuit Court, no. 1116-CR04467.
Could it be possible KC-St Joe Bishop Finn will not get away with blaming the vicar general instead of himself and could it be possible the Philly vicar general Lynn will not get away with blaming the dead bishop instead of himself?
Victims, your voices are strong and powerful, and you are being hear.
ALL who enable and empower child predators to abuse more kids, by covering up their sex crimes, need to be held accountable by the law of the land. This is the only way to get this horrific abuse stopped and to protect our kids today.
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims.
SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc.)
When will constant revelations of coverups by members of the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church reach a breaking point for parishioners, sitting in the pews? How much more embarrassment are they going to be forced to endure, before they rise up en masse and challenge the suitability of their bishops, archbishops and cardinals? One of the biggest problems for everyday Catholics that I see is the perception of Christian denominations that parishioners share the same moral values, or lack thereof, as their arrogant bishops, whose main goal is to protect themselves from lawsuits and “AVOID SCANDAL” being brought to the Roman Catholic Church. I can personally attest to the fact that there are many, many many good Catholics, who do not share the lax morality of their bishops, and for them there is a psychological disconnect, between them and their bishops, but they are unwilling to speak up and “cause any waves.” We need to pray that these Catholics will demand their voice and FORCE their bishops to reform and be accountable under the Law. Until they rise up in force, in righteous indignation, nothing is going to change. The ball is in their court!