KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
BY BARBARA SHELLY
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
07/01/2014
The Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese of the Roman Catholic church keeps breaking new ground — and taking its members where they don’t want to go.
Its leader, Robert Finn, was the first bishop to be found guilty in the church’s long-running sexual abuse scandle. He was convicted on a misdemeanor charge of failing to alert the proper authorities after the discovery of photographs of children taken by a pedophile priest, Shawn Ratigan.
Now the diocese is reportedly the first to be held to account in a breach of contract case. And in a big way. An arbitrator has ordered the diocese to pay $1.1 million for violating the terms of a 2008 settlement that was intended to protect children.
That settlement was the result of a sexual abuse case brought against 12 priests or former priests in the diocese. Plaintiffs were awarded $10 million, and also achieved some nonmonetary commitments. One was an agreement by the diocese to immediately report suspicions of child abuse. After the Ratigan allegations surfaced, the plaintiffs alleged breach of contract.
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