-255x255.jpg "Joe Cory/The Catholic Key")
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — To understand Bishop Robert Finn’s indictment for failure to report suspected child abuse it is helpful to know a little about the world he walked into when he was appointed to lead the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in 2004. From the beginning, this “theological conservative” was not particularly welcome.
In May 2006, the National Catholic Reporter tallied up the numerous changes Bishop Finn had implemented in the diocese as though they were counts in an indictment. The Talk to Action blog, meanwhile, described the bishop’s establishment of a Respect Life Office as a giant step in his “march backwards” and a clear sign that “biological issues now take precedence over long-standing concerns such as distributive justice.”
In a diocese like Kansas City-St. Joseph, where some public officials and Church leaders have long enjoyed an easy rapport, the new emphasis on “life issues” prompted some Catholics to rethink their political allegiances. This realignment, actual or feared, has agitated any number of forces, the media most notably.
Leading the media charge has been the Kansas City Star which assigned its ace project reporter, Judy Thomas, to the Father Ratigan story. Locally, Thomas has a reputation for probing pro-life institutions, Catholic and evangelical. Her groundbreaking 2000 series on AIDS in the priesthood, she states on her HSJ.org profile page, “was picked up in virtually every major market in the United States and in various outlets around the world.”
At the first whiff of the Father Ratigan scandal, the Star started to run above-the-fold headlines and soon called for the bishop’s resignation. “It’s painful to believe the most vulnerable in his flock weren’t protected,” criticized a Star editorialist. But when former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline read this editorial, he was appalled. As AG, Kline had worked to expose abortion facilities that failed to report cases of child rape as required by Kansas law. In 2003 and 2004 alone, the state’s largest family-planning businesses had reported only two of 166 cases in which abortions were performed on girls 14 and under.
When Kline moved to acquire the necessary records, the two relevant state agencies
fought every request and forced Kline to seek subpoenas, dramatically slowing down his investigation. Kline is convinced that then-governor and now Obama Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was directing this resistance.
So relentless was the Star’s attack on Kline during his 2006 re-election bid that national Planned Parenthood awarded the paper its top editorial honor, the “Maggie,” named after its eugenicist founder, Margaret Sanger. Kline lost, and other cases of suspected child rape have not received the same public scrutiny.
The Star’s campaign against Kline continues to this day. An Oct. 16 editorial addressing disciplinary action against the former DA stated: “Kline’s harassment of women seeking legal abortions in Kansas — and medical personnel who provided those abortions — was completely out of bounds. It was an alarming display of zealotry, something he should have been ashamed of as the chief law enforcement officer for the state and, later, Johnson County.”
Indeed, though Kline initiated his prosecution of the Planned Parenthood clinic in 2007, the case has yet to be resolved. An Oct. 21 story in the Kansas City Star reported on a new and frustrating development for the prosecutor now handling the case.
“The country’s first criminal prosecution of Planned Parenthood was left teetering Friday when it was revealed the state of Kansas destroyed abortion records that prosecutors planned to use as evidence,” reported an Oct. 27 story in the Star.
The prosecutor insists that the relevant documents should have been retained by the government for five years, but were shredded before that deadline: “The shredding occurred when KDHE was under former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, an abortion rights supporter,” confirmed the Star.
In contrast to the administration of Gov. Sebelius, the diocese made an open and honest effort to get at the truth once Bishop Finn finally recognized the depth of the Father Ratigan problem. As the well-received independent Graves Report notes, “Bishop Finn directed that the diocese and all parishes cooperate fully with the investigation.” As the report also notes, however, “the diocese’s handling of reports regarding Father Ratigan was flawed from the outset.”
This contention no one challenges, least of all Bishop Finn himself. But his supporters have raised questions about whether the local Catholic leader and the diocese have been unjustly held to a higher standard. Take, for instance, Missouri’s questionable approach to addressing allegations of child sexual abuse in public schools.
Woody Cozad, a prominent local attorney and lobbyist, has scrutinized the state’s response to allegations of child sexual abuse against public school teachers. Ultimately, he worked with state legislators in Jefferson City, Mo., to change a law that, says Cozad, “encouraged school administrators not to report sexual abuse.”
As Cozad explains it, public schools had been uniquely allowed to handle their own cases internally. After an accusation was investigated, an attorney representing the school district would typically meet with the attorney for the accused — often paid for by the teachers union, and the two lawyers would work out an agreement.
In many cases, the agreement would allow the accused to resign with some severance pay and a letter that did not specify the reason for the departure. So common have these deals been nationwide that the participants have earned the nickname “mobile molesters.”
Cozad asserts: “There is way more abuse in public schools than Catholic ones.”
But when state Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, sought to reform public schools’ policy for dealing with sexual predators, she faced a wall of indifference. Finally, she succeeded the same month the Father Ratigan scandal broke.
“After five years of fighting,” said Cunningham, “I’m proud to see this legislation finally sent to the governor’s desk — children in our state are now one big step closer to having solid protection from sexual predators in their schools.”
While many public-school districts have been insulated from any efforts to reform union practices, Catholic dioceses have dramatically altered their policies for identifying, reporting and removing alleged clerical predators. But Catholic leaders and institutions remain vulnerable to politicized campaigns to discredit them and reap huge financial settlements. At least some of those who have read criminal intent into the bishop’s actions often have something to gain by doing so.
Chief among the opportunists is SNAP — the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. SNAP’s leader, David Clohessy, doesn’t mince words. On Oct. 20, he posted an open letter on his website. “Jailing Finn, once his guilt has been determined or admitted,” wrote Clohessy, “would be an unprecedented and effective step towards preventing future clergy sex crimes and cover-ups, in Kansas City or elsewhere.”
Perhaps the most overlooked or ignored fact is that SNAP often collaborates with the trial attorneys who benefit from the suffering of abuse victims, real and imagined. SNAP’s involvement in a Kansas City suit dating back a generation rubbed at least some of the participants wrong.
“SNAP wants everyone to donate money. They got $40,000 out of that settlement,” says Craig Wilkerson, one of the more severely abused victims. “I’ve been telling the Star to investigate SNAP ever since.”
In the months since the diocese reported Father Ratigan to law enforcement, attorney Rebecca Randles, who drove the diocese’s 2008 $10-million settlement with 47 presumed victims, has entered pleadings for more than 20 new victims (John Doe D.M. v. Fr. Stephen J. Wise). The case was filed Oct. 4 in the Circuit Court of Jackson County in Independence.
Lawyer Cozad believes the steady drip-drip of these articles has poisoned the local jury pool.
“The anti-Catholic propaganda is tremendous out there,” says Cozad, who believes that only the Star’s dwindling readership will allow for the jury to be pulled locally.
When the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights attempted to counter the allegations against Bishop Finn with a full-page ad in the Kansas City Star, its publisher rejected the ad and the $25,000 fee without saying why.
“Never have I been turned down,” said Catholic League director Bill Donohue, who routinely places ads in The New York Times and elsewhere, “much less without explanation.”
This environment should prove advantageous for the new Jackson County prosecutor, Jean Peters-Baker, who was appointed to her predecessor’s unfinished term a week before the scandal broke. Soon after her appointment as prosecutor, Peters-Baker launched her 2012 election campaign.
She will likely face a tough Democratic primary challenge next August. Peters-Baker’s campaign theme: “This is about protecting children.”
As one savvy Democratic activist said about Peters, “She won one election as a state rep (with NARAL backing). She has no name ID. Running countywide is a big damn difference.”
Peters-Baker went a long way towards acquiring name ID on October 14 when she indicted Bishop Finn. “This is about protecting children,” Peters-Baker told The New York Times, which has given Bishop Finn’s indictment prominent coverage.
Still, Cozad sees only a Pyrrhic victory here for the anti-Finn forces. “If Jean Peters-Baker successfully stretches the noose for mandatory responders to accommodate the Diocese and Bishop Finn,” said Cozad during his appearance October 27 on the local PBS show Ruckus, “she will have made a necktie plenty big enough for Planned Parenthood.”
Jack Cashill is a Kansas City-based writer and producer. To learn more, see jackcashill.com.
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The sight of the pro-abortion, moral relativists of the K.C. Star editorial board, whose ‘art’ pages praise every libertine practice, giving moral judgment on the internal governance of the Catholic Church gives absurdity a new level of meaning! Their protection of real abuse in secular institutions, and virtual prosecution of Phil Kline for trying to protect the victims of Planned Parenthood’s corrupt practices give the lie to their crocodile tear hypocrisy! Their goal is not protection of children but is the elimination of orthodox Catholicism. Brighter than they have tried. They too will fail.
Thank you, Jack, for your accurate, factual reporting of the current witch hunt being directed by “SNAP,” the Kansas City Star and Jackson County Prosecutor Peters-Baker.
Bishop Finn has earned our respect and support which we offer him with our prayers. We need his continued leadership in our Diocese.
No kidding. Pro-death forces hate us. Why, then, do we give them so much ammunition? If Bishop Finn knew about a child molester and didn’t report him to the authorities, he wouldn’t want me on his jury either.
Without question there is unfair bias, injustice, left-wing agenda at play taking advantage of the Church and Bishop Finn in this situation. HOWEVER, I am reminded of an old saying, “you cannot establish your own innocence by proving the guilt of others.” 2 wrongs do not make a right. The evil one prowls like a wolf and the door of the barn was opened. The issue was seriously mishandled by His Excellency’s own admission and the report’s conclusion. PERIOD. I appreciate the article’s explanation of the evil that has been unleashed… but in 2011 ... the handling of this matter in the way it was handled is simply, utterly unacceptable.
This is an EXCELLENT article.
One more thing: Fr. Ratigan, the one who allegedly had child porn, worked at a parish with a school. In a letter to the diocese months before the episode became public, the principal said the priest was at the school “every day for long periods of time.” The letter also outlined many pages of “inappropriate conduct with children.” Under Missouri law, the principal and teachers were required to report potential abuse to state officials! (The letter did NOTHING to statisfy Missoouri law.) Yet the prosecutor has given a complete pass to these very individuals who saw him “every day.” Instead, the prosecutor went after the “big fish” (Bishop Finn), who probably saw the priest only a few times a year.
Bigoted justice? Absolutely.
DPierre
TheMediaReport.com
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The media crusade against Bishop Finn doesn’t surprise me, but the fact that this is happening in Kansas City does. Here in Massachusetts, we’re still cleaning up the filth from Salem’s annual Halloween Party - only one stabbing! Professional witches and zombies will go back to their quarrels, and leaving dead raccoons on each other’s doorsteps, etc.
Newspaper writers like Judy Thomas and the NYT’s Laurie Goodstein have carved a celebrated notoriety from ‘flogging the dead horse’ of Catholic clergy scandals. Good luck to them. We would be better served as a society if we focused on the victims of sexual abuse, and pointing out where this abuse is happening TODAY.
Want to know where children today are most unsafe? - in the homes of their single mothers, whose often serial ‘boyfriends’ have the most access to vulnerable young children. Tell the truth, Thomas and Goodstein!
All of this is just superfluous - did he do it? If so then he is guilty. Why are you defending hime so vigorously? He admitted doing it?
what he is not good as an appointed man of God,he suppose not to do something that is evil in d sight of God and Man. Thanks
Members of the clergy of any religion are fair game for just about any accusation. Charges of Sexual Misconduct (true or not) seem to be a favorite. However, abuse of children is a taboo. It would be better if Gay priests were caught with Gay priests, or Lesbian Nuns were caught with Lesbian Nuns. That sort of scandal would be juicy but tolerable. But sins against children are almost unforgiveable. Who gets the blame? So called Conservative Catholics claim that Vatican II somehow set the child abuse scandal in motion with books such as “Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption into the Catholic Church” by Michael Rose. However (always a great qualifying word) the Catholic Church is certainly not the only religious organization beset with sex scandals. More than a few Protestant clergy are guilty of sexual misconduct (homosexual and heterosexual), but they rarely get the publicity. The Catholic Church is always a good target, and its enemies relish anything that will tarnish its reputation.
how do some one become bishop
Please, whether people liked or disliked the changes Bishop Finn imposed when he took over his diocese is immaterial in light of his moral and legal failures to protect children in conformity with the diocese’s own guidelines and state law. It is time for Church leaders, on whichever side of the liturgical wars they stand, to be held accountable for such behavior which increasingly is destroying the moral credibility of the Church.
The Catholic Church is ALWAYS a prime target for any sort of sex scandal (heterosexual or homosexual). And it isn’t always “outsiders” doing the attacking. So called Conservative Catholics are placing the blame on the post-Vatican II environment with books like “Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption into the Catholic Church” by Michael Rose. And don’t forget the accusations of sexual misconduct leveled at the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago, which was not a child abuse case.
Zero tolerance for child molesters and their enablers and nothing less!
Orthodox, Unorthodox, Liberation Theology, liberal, conservative, what does it matter in this case? Was the Virtus Program in place? Was a report
detailing concerns about said priest sent to the bishop by the principal?
Was said priest suspended at that time, awaiting outcome of investigation? Was he (the priest) kept away from children during that time? Did a computer technician find erotica or child pornography on his computer? What was done with the computer? Is there reason for indictment here? Appears to be. A conviction? We shall see. An indictment will produce one thing though, anyone indictable, Must be indicted. Anyone. Think about it, “with liberty and Justice for all”.
None of Cashill’s villains indicted Bishop Finn….a grand jury of random citizens did.
I think it’s important to stay on message, meaning zero tolerance for any priest or bishop having sex with anyone, and with the use of pornography.
Integrity is being consistent in all areas of ones life, of having lives open to scrutiny, passing the test to be worthy of trust. For a bishop to be Pro-life, and stand up for other conservative values is terrific. But to fall asleep on the job with a priest into porn deserves more than a hand-slap. Civil authorities need to send the message that a bishop, as head shepherd, will pay a big price for not overseeing his flock the way he should. If it means a year in jail, then so be it. The priest ought not be off the hook. But the man that oversaw him ought not be let off easily either. The buck stops with the man at the top. Newspapers are just reporting what is - their reporters are to be praised. Without them, lay people of all ages remain at risk. Human beings are to be valued and treated with respect by everyone - clergymen included.
This is a very well written and informative article. It accurately provides evidence of the KC Stars complete bias and willingness to destroy a good and decent man in order to sell papers and promote and protect their own agenda. Politics aside for a moment it is also obvious from some of the comments that the Star has successfully manipulated this story to their advantage. To David Lorenz, Bishop Finn did not “admit to doing it”, in fact he plead not guilty to the charges. He did admit making mistakes but he did not admit criminal wrong doing, there is a big difference between the two. Readers of the Star have to drill deep to get the whole story, usually on the back pages, but even more often we have to turn to completely different sources, sources that don’t have an agenda. I don’t remember the Star calling for the resignation of any of the previous Bishop’s during the earlier abuse cases, could it be because the politics of those Bishop’s more closely mirrored the politics of the Star editorial board.
The anonymous public wants to see a Bishop do time and not escape by the skin of his teeth, again. Bishop Finn could have plead guilty and done some actual jail time. Time that could be spent counseling other inmates and putting on display, some real Catholic principles.
This entire case is very troubling. We have a radical Left-wing anti-Catholic activist who is scoring victories via the strong arm of the Kansas Liberal Establishment. Perhaps Bishop Finn could have handled the sex abuse case of Ratigan better. Ratigan not the Bishop needs to be called to justice. This is a legal scam perpetrated by Jean Peters-Baker. The faithful need to stand up for the church and the office of bishop.
If he’s guilty of “failure to report suspected child abuse”, then he deserves the heaviest possible sentence. Like, say, 20 years’ hard labour, without any nonsense about parole. Bishops deserve far heavier punishments than priests or laity, as a matter of principle. It’s long past time for bishops to be imprisoned for their crimes, just as normal people are.
“This contention no one challenges, least of all Bishop Finn himself. But his supporters have raised questions about whether the local Catholic leader and the diocese have been unjustly held to a higher standard. Take, for instance, Missouri’s questionable approach to addressing allegations of child sexual abuse in public schools.”
## Catholic bishops are *not* to be held to “a higher standard” than others ? Jesus required His disciples to live by a far higher standard than the Torah required. And that bait-and-switch tactic is beneath contempt - it’s cowardly, dishonest, evasive, untruthful, & totally unChristian. If Finn is guilty, he should be treated as such. Missouri’s schools do not insist that they are One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Divinely founded, Divinely assisted, the Body of Christ, indefectible, a perfect society, & so on - the CC claims all these things, and others. So unless the Bishop doesn’t believe any of these claims (all of which are dogmas BTW), he has no business allowing his lawyers to suggest that he should be held to the low standards that are appropriate for the all too human schools of a unimportant state in an unimportant country. For the Church says that Jesus founded the Church - it does not say He founded the US, the US states, or the US school system. What sort of man - what sort of bishop ? - is prepared to deny Catholic dogmas in order to make his defence easier ? That’s disgraceful. He should be ashamed of himself.
“This contention no one challenges, least of all Bishop Finn himself. But his supporters have raised questions about whether the local Catholic leader and the diocese have been unjustly held to a higher standard. Take, for instance, Missouri’s questionable approach to addressing allegations of child sexual abuse in public schools.”
## Catholic bishops are *not* to be held to “a higher standard” than others ? Jesus required His disciples to live by a far higher standard than the Torah required. And that bait-and-switch tactic is beneath contempt - it’s cowardly, dishonest, evasive, untruthful, & totally unChristian. If Finn is guilty, he should be treated as such. Missouri’s schools do not insist that they are One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Divinely founded, Divinely assisted, the Body of Christ, indefectible, a perfect society, & so on - the CC claims all these things, and others. So unless the Bishop doesn’t believe any of these claims (all of which are dogmas BTW), he has no business allowing his lawyers to suggest that he should be held to the low standards that are appropriate for the all too human schools of a unimportant state in an unimportant country. For the Church says that Jesus founded the Church - it does not say He founded the US, the US states, or the US school system. What sort of man - what sort of bishop ? - is prepared to deny Catholic dogmas in order to make his defence easier ? That’s disgraceful. He should be ashamed of himself. As for “forces arrayed against the Church” - since when did the Church defend pornography ? No one’s “arrayed against the Church”, except the wicked men who defend other wicked men. US Catholic tribalism always gets the better of Christian ethics :(
This is a real test of faith. There are two things that come to my mind. One is when King Hezekiah was threatened and the general of Assyria made fun of him in his language to the Israeli Soldiers on the wall. Isaiah told him not to fear and so.. the general heard a report that caused him to return to his country where he was killed. The second is King Herod who the people saluted as a god and GOD caused him to be eaten by worms. This was the same Herod who put Peter in prison and Peter was freed by an angel and also slew James. Was Peter freed and James slain because Peter was the Pope? There are a lot of unanswered questions but GOD has not left his throne. He is still in control and even the horror of this situation does not catch him off guard. My prayer is that GOD will take this whole situation and turn it around in ways our enemy does not even suspect.
Adelia - I very much appreciate that you used Scripture verses to make your point. Going to the Bible, I’ve found, is the very best source. It is the only source that is consistently infallible and trustworthy. King Hezekiah and Herod are great references.
Regarding Peter, while James was the first to be martyred for the faith and that’s documented in the Bible, Peter was eventually killed too, crucified upside down, according to extra-biblical church history. Peter’s wife was also martyred at the same time, according to the same extra-biblical, church history.
Am k missing something? It seems the priest did not actually abuse any children but did have child porn. Why is the porn legal?
Oh when will the victims learn that forgiveness is the only path to healing? I speak as a victim of sexual abuse who has been made whole by the act of forgiveness. “Vengeance us MINE. I will repay” says the Lord. SNAP is so very wrong!
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