Saturday, September 8, 2012
Crime How Catholic bishop failed on priest's sex abuse
Posted by Max Brantley on Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 6:58 AM
This is an account of how, as recently as 2011, in violation of both church and civil laws, a bishop and church officials failed to stop a priest from pursuing his obsession with taking pornographic photographs of young girls. Eventually it was Monsignor Murphy, not Bishop Finn, who turned in Father Ratigan.
Advance warnings went unheeded. Actions were slow after the cache of photos were discovered. A police officer says he wasn't fully informed. Despite warnings about the priest's suspicions actions, the priest was allowed to work with young girls.
Over the next five months, Father Ratigan, who is now 46 attended a sixth-grader’s birthday party, co-celebrated a child’s confirmation, communicated with children on his Facebook page, hosted an Easter egg hunt and attended a parade, the testimony recounts. Invited to dinner at the home of parishioners, he was caught taking photographs, under the table, up their daughter’s skirt, according to a federal indictment of Father Ratigan.Neither the bishop nor any church official told church members or Father Ratigan’s large extended family — which includes many children — that the priest had been ordered to stay away from children, Darron Blankenship, a brother-in-law of Father Ratigan and a police officer who has handled child abuse cases, said in an interview on Friday.
Bishop Finn, it's worth noting, had engendered church controversy after his appointment in 2006. A conservative member of Opus Dei, he decried "moral relativism" and pushed for greater church concern with biological issues (against abortion, for example) over distributive justice. Progressive voices were squelched. Along with complaints about a deviant priest. He remains bishop.
Comments (8)
Showing 1-8 of 8
More by Max Brantley
-
The snowmageddon line is open
We're more than halfway done and the line is open. Finishing up: * MURDER MYSTERY: The murder of beauty queen Nona Dirksmeyer in Russellville gets renewed attention from NBC Dateline, a full hour during the show at 7 p.m.
- Feb 20, 2013
-
Protest tomorrow on legislature's assault on women's rights
A reminder of the social media-driven rally at the Capitol at 3 p.m. Saturday over the legislature's unprecedented and unconstitutional infringement on women's medical rights.
- Mar 22, 2013
- More »
Event Calendar
-
Re: Remember Jon Hubbard? He hasn't mellowed
What a dumbass demagogue.
-
on May 18, 2013
-
Re: Partisan justice: Court candidate Wood gets tout from GOP's Curtis Coleman
If Curtis Coleman supports her, she won't be getting my vote!
-
on May 18, 2013
-
Re: Friday finish — An oldie but goodie for legislature? A rebuttal for Tom Cotton
Hey Durango, I know I can be in the group of 100, right? I have…
- on May 18, 2013
Top Commenters
Blogroll
Slideshows
-
May 16, 2013
Site Index
News
Cover Story / Arkansas Reporter / The Week That Was / Smart Talk / The Insider / The Observer / Editorial / Max Brantley / Ernest Dumas / Gene Lyons / Bob Lancaster / Words / Guest Writer / Letters
Entertainment
A&E Feature / To-Do List / In Brief / Movie Reviews / Music Reviews / Theater Reviews / A&E News / Art Notes / Graham Gordy / Books / Media / Dining Reviews / Dining Guide / What's Cookin' / Calendar / The Televisionist / Movie Listings / Gallery Listings
This Week's Cover
Quick Links
Special Publications
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
