Will the Vatican Finally Hold This Kansas City Bishop Accountable?

[Warren Stupidity]

The Vatican’s investigation of an American bishop could lead the way to real accountability for predatory priests, or could be business as usual for the troubled Church.

VATICAN CITY — Father Shawn Ratigan of Independence, Missouri, liked to take pictures of naked little girls. He especially liked little girls between the ages of 2 and 12. He liked to make them pose for him—sometimes completely nude, sometimes sprawled out on the grass of the fenced-in parish lawn, and sometimes he made them pull their panties away from their buttocks and vaginas so he could get a better view. Sometimes he stole pictures in what authorities would call “up-skirt” covert images of little girls’ crotches from under tables or in the nearby Catholic school playground. He used a digital camera or his cellphone, downloading hundreds if not thousands of the pedo-pornographic pictures onto his laptop.

Ratigan would probably still be producing child pornography if a computer technician named Ken Kes hadn’t found the disturbing images on the priest’s computer in 2009 when the Kansas City diocese called him to repair the sluggish machine. According to a Reuters report outlining the priest’s sins, Kes found the “odd images” when he was fixing the priest’s laptop.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/01/will-the-vatican-finally-hold-bishops-accountable.html

Naturally the Bishop in charge of this creep is still in power, still has his job.

[rug]

1. I hope you're not disappointed.

Vatican Investigates Missouri Bishop Who Shielded Pedophile Priest

By MICHAEL PAULSONSEPT. 29, 2014

The only American bishop ever convicted of shielding a pedophile priest is now under investigation by the Vatican.

The tenure of the bishop, Robert W. Finn of the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in northern and western Missouri, is being reviewed by a Canadian archbishop, Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa, at the request of Pope Francis.

Bishop Finn was convicted in 2012 of a misdemeanor for failure to report to law enforcement that a priest had taken pornographic pictures of young girls. He was sentenced to two years of probation, and this year his diocese was fined $1.1 million after an arbitrator determined that the failure to report the priest had violated terms of an earlier settlement with abuse victims.

The Vatican investigation, formally called an apostolic visitation, was first reported by The National Catholic Reporter, and was confirmed by a spokesman for Bishop Finn.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/30/us/vatican-begins-investigation-of-us-bishop.html?_r=0

[AtheistCrusader]

2. Opening an investigation AFTER he was convicted and sentenced in US court?

Whoopie.

Say, are you missing a sock?

[rug]

6. But I thought they were institutionally invested in coverups.

Your positions are very confusing. What will you talk about if he's removed? Socks?

[AtheistCrusader]

7. Oh yes, I'm sure they'll uncover something new.

What an interesting worldview.

[rug]

8. You should try it. Removing bias is a good start.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Yes, that's definitely the problem here.

[rug]

10. Very candid of you.

[okasha]

3. Another one about to lose his collar.

I wonder if he'll risk going to Rome for the Synod.

[TexasProgresive]

4. JUst a few bishops from each country will attend the Synod

At least that's what I heard.

[mr blur]

5. Oh come on, you know that this has nothing to do with religion!

It's just a coincidence that he was a bishop.

Anyway, atheists are misogynists, I read it here!!1!.

[Lordquinton]

11. Found a picture of him