By Alan Bavley And Glenn E. Rice
Kansas City Star
May 27, 2011
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/26/2907168/principal-warned-diocese-about.html
[Full text of the principal's letter to the diocese]
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| Ratigan |
The principal of a Catholic school warned a top official of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph more than a year ago that parents and teachers found the Rev. Shawn Ratigan’s behavior toward children troubling, including the hundreds of pictures the priest took.
The warning came more than six months before the diocese was alerted to questionable images of children on Ratigan’s computer.
Ratigan, 45, of Kansas City, North, was charged last week with possessing pornographic photos of children taken around churches and schools where he had worked in the diocese. Ratigan pleaded not guilty Monday in Clay County Circuit Court.
Ratigan’s attorney, John P. O’Connor, declined to comment about the letter.
Diocese officials learned in December about images on Ratigan’s computer, but they did not file a formal report with police until this month.
But a year ago, Julie Hess, principal of St. Patrick School in Kansas City, North, detailed her concerns in a May 19, 2010, letter to diocese Vicar General Robert Murphy.
“I seek to fulfill my responsibility as school principal in relaying a growing body of parent and teacher concerns regarding Pastor Shawn Ratigan’s perceived inappropriate behavior with children,” Hess wrote.
She could not be reached for comment Thursday. The Kansas City Star independently confirmed the letter’s authenticity.
Diocese spokeswoman Rebecca Summers said Murphy did get a memo in May 2010 from Hess sharing concerns about Ratigan’s behavior.
“Monsignor Murphy went through each point with Ratigan and set clear boundaries for him,” Summers said.
Ratigan was allowed to continue in his duties as associate pastor.
Summers said she didn’t know whether Murphy gave the memo to Bishop Robert Finn. As vicar general, Murphy is Finn’s principal deputy.
Prosecutors have alleged that Ratigan photographed children in and around churches where he had been assigned in the diocese. He remains in custody on $200,000 bond.
Some of the photos were “up-skirt” images of clothed girls ages 12 and younger, according to court documents, and at least one nude photo focused on a girl’s genitals.
Ratigan was at St. Patrick Parish in the Northland for about a year and St. Mary Church in St. Joseph before that.
Hess said in her letter that concerns about Ratigan surfaced early in the 2009-2010 school year and grew stronger.
The incident that finally prompted her to report Ratigan occurred during a school field trip in May 2010 where Ratigan allegedly allowed a fourth-grade girl to sit on his lap and lean her body against him.
“He did not immediately move to redirect her; she sat there for at least five minutes, until teachers moved to stand next to him,” Hess wrote.
“All of the teachers (on the trip) spoke with me … about this and other concerns. Four parents have also come forward.”
Staff members expressed concerns to Hess that Ratigan seemed unwilling to find the time to meet with them to discuss parish issues. “They believe that Father spends so much time at school he isn’t able to get other important things done.”
Hess said Ratigan complained to her about a teacher who interfered when students tried to get close to him at recess.
As she explained to him the need for physical boundaries, “he interrupted to tell me that little children need to be touched and hugged, and even though ‘they’ advised against it, he felt it was the right thing for kids,” Hess wrote.
“(Ratigan) said he would never hurt a child and all he wants to do is help them all get to heaven.”
Among specific concerns Hess raised in her letter:
•“Father allows students to climb on him, grab his leg/s and reach into his pockets for candy. When they climb/jump on him, he may swing them up over his head or spin them around.”
At a faculty meeting, “the teachers agreed to intervene” when they saw those behaviors.
•The physical education teacher reported that at a school basketball game, “Father was sitting very close to a first-grade girl, who had wrapped both of her hands and arms around his arm and was trying to cuddle up to him.”
•When the first-grade Brownie Girl Scouts planted flowers at Ratigan’s house, parents said they were concerned about what they found.
“?‘It’s very kid-friendly,’ one mother said. ‘There is a big fish tank in the living room and stuffed animals all over the furniture.’ There is a giant stuffed animal on the bed in the guest-room and the kitchen hand towels are shaped to look like doll clothes.”
A parent said she found “a pair of girls’ panties inside one of the planters in Father’s backyard.”
During a Brownie visit to Ratigan’s house, the mother of one girl said her husband became incensed “when he saw Father rubbing circles on his daughter’s back.”
•“Father takes hundreds of pictures of the kids, not just during special events, but on field trips and in their everyday school activities. A few parents have mentioned that they think it’s strange and wonder what he does with all the pictures.”
Church officials learned about a number of questionable photos in mid-December when a technician fixing Ratigan’s laptop computer discovered them, according to court documents.
The technician gave the laptop to church leaders. The church then gave the laptop to diocesan officials.
Finn has said he knew about the “very troubling” images months ago but was told they weren’t pornography.
He said the diocese contacted a Kansas City police officer and described one of the more disturbing photos. At the same time, someone with the diocese showed more images to legal counsel.
A police spokesman said diocesan officials reached out to a ranking police officer who serves on a diocesan committee. The officer was not shown the photo or told there were other images
The day after the church was notified about the images in December, Ratigan attempted suicide. Church officials and emergency workers found him unconscious in his closed garage with his motorcycle running.
Ratigan left a suicide note in which he apologized for any harm he had caused the church, according to court records. He was hospitalized for psychiatric care and then sent out of state for a follow-up review.
When he returned to Kansas City, he went to live in a private residence for priests in Independence. Finn ordered him to continue counseling and not to be around children.
In late March, Finn said in a statement last week, he received reports that Ratigan had violated some of the restrictions when he attended the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and had met with friends and families. Ratigan also attended a child’s birthday party at the invitation of the youngster’s parents.
On May 12, Murphy contacted the same police officer whom church officials had previously consulted. That officer then recommended that the diocese file a report with the Police Department’s Cyber Crimes Against Children Unit.
Finn said along with their report, diocesan officials provided cyber crimes investigators with the electronic images recovered from Ratigan’s computer in December.
A detective began conducting interviews and obtained a search warrant, which found additional alleged pornographic materials from Ratigan’s apartment that were being stored at a relative’s home.
The support group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests on Thursday called Hess’ letter a “smoking gun” that showed the diocese ignored warning signs about Ratigan.
“It paints a very troubling picture that would cause any reasonable person to take action,” said David Clohessy, the group’s executive director.
To reach Glenn E. Rice, call 816-234-4341 or send email to grice@kcstar.com
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