MISSOURI
Bilgrimage
William D. Lindsey
An update on the story of Bishop Robert Finn in Kansas City, who is under criminal indictment for shielding Father Shawn Ratigan, after child pornography was found on Ratigan’s computer and after Finn permitted Ratigan continued access to children: as Mark Morris reports in the Kansas City Star last Friday, prosecutors have petitioned the court for the criminal case to move forward. This is in response to a motion filed by Finn’s lawyers last month to have the charges against Finn dismissed without trial.
As these legal filings come before the court, the deposition that SNAP leader David Clohessy gave in January in response to court orders in Kansas City was made public by SNAP at the start of March, and Joshua McElwee reports on it at National Catholic Reporter, as does Nicholas Phillips at Riverfront Times (St. Louis)–both with links to the full deposition. Mark Serrano at SNAP has posted a rundown of what the courts in Missouri are asking of SNAP as they demand the disclosure of information SNAP leaders maintain is confidential. I’ve linked to this document in the past but want to remind readers of it again as David Clohessy’s deposition becomes public.
As Serrano’s statement notes, acting through their lawyers,
Catholic officials [in Kansas City and St. Louis] want private, personal records and e mails involving hundreds of individuals who have never even heard of or met the accused or the accusers in the two suits [in which SNAP depositions are being demanded]. This is a misuse of judicial processes designed to crush a support and advocacy group that protects the vulnerable and heals the wounded. It’s cleverly orchestrated to keep clergy sex crimes and cover ups concealed.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.