by Lauren Langdon

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STA staff members Mr. Michael Sanem, Mr. Stephen Himes, and Ms. Amanda Johnson held a meeting in the Windmoor Center Sept. 19 during activity one to review the facts of the Bishop Robert Finn case. Sept. 6, Bishop Finn of the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo. diocese was the first American bishop to be charged and convicted in a sexual abuse scandal.

“We are here to examine the case from a legal standpoint, and also to just educate us all further on kind of the seriousness of abuse, the seriousness of reporting abuse, in hopes we prevent any abuse in the future and as a STA community we can serve our commitment to protect the vulnerable,” Sanem said.

Sanem, who spoke about the case’s timeline, focused on the following dates:

May 2010

• Principal of St. Patrick Parish notifies the diocese that they suspect Father Shawn Ratigan is a sexual predator.
• Bishop Finn warns Father Ratigan to stop inappropriate behavior, saying that he is “taking this seriously.”

Dec. 2010

• Child pornography created by Father Ratigan is found on his computer by a diocese technician.
• Father Ratigan attempts suicide.
• Bishop Finn places him under care of a diocesan psychologist and restricts his ministry.

Jan. – May 2011

• Father Ratigan violated these restrictions several times and initiates contact with children.
• In May 2011, Vicar General Murphy (second in command) calls police and reports Father Ratigan.
• Father Ratigan is arrested and charged with producing child pornograpy.

Oct. 2011

• Bishop Finn is charged with failing to report Father Ratigan.

Aug. 2012

• Father Ratigan pleads guilty and is currently awaiting sentencing.

Sept. 2012

• Bishop Finn is found guilty of failing to report child abuse.

Since Himes has a law degree, he addressed the legal aspects of the case. If child abuse is reported to a supervisor, he may have a legal obligation to report it to law enforcement. Those supervisors are call “mandatory reporters.” Himes explained that in Missouri if certain professionals have reasonable cause to suspect child abuse they are legally required to report to a supervisor or police. While Bishop Finn argued that he was not a mandatory reporter because he assigned that duty to Vicar General Murphy’s and his committee, both the prosecution and defense agreed that Bishop Finn did not report Father Ratigan to the police in a timely manner. The judge decided that, since he is the diocese’s chief administrator, he was a mandatory reporter, and thus had to report Fr. Ratigan’s crimes to the police. Bishop Finn will not serve a jail sentence unless he violates probation.

Johnson closed the discussion with a reminder to talk to a trusted adult or visit websites like stopitnow.org if you or someone you know is a victim of sexual abuse.