“Listening sessions.”
That is what Bishop Robert Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City – St.
Joseph offered in response to a lawsuit
revealing violation of federal child pornography laws for receiving and
distributing child pornography that was created by one of the Diocese
priests. As ChildProtectionNews.com
reported on May
20, 2011, the Diocese found child pornography on the computer of Fr. Shawn
Ratigan in December 2010. The images were nude photographs of young girls,
under 12 years old, and photographs that were covertly taken up the skirts of
young girls showing their vaginal area and their underpants. Instead of handing the computer and the images
over to law enforcement, the Diocese made copies of the pornographic images and
consulted with their attorneys. It was
not until last week that the Diocese turned the child pornography over to law
enforcement.
This is the same Bishop and the same Diocese that in 2008
after “listening sessions” with 47 courageous sexual abuse survivors, made an
agreement to immediately report any suspicion of sexual abuse or misconduct by
its clergy to law enforcement. Instead
of complying with federal law and very clear agreements made with abuse
survivors, according to the Kansas City
Star, the Diocese and Bishop Finn have “ reached out” to parishes and
offered more “listening sessions.”
What? Are this
Diocese and Bishop really that far off of the mark that they would possess
child pornography in violation of federal law and protect a priest who created that
child pornography and think that all they must do is offer “listening
sessions?” Maybe the leadership of the
Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph will be able to squeeze in a “listening
session” during visiting days while they are serving a well-deserved sentence
in federal prison for possession and distribution of child pornography.