Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph

Child abuse scandal

On September 6, 2012, Bishop Robert Finn was convicted on one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse, based on his knowledge of the activities of a priest in his diocese, Rev. Shawn Ratigan, who in August 2012 pleaded guilty to five counts of possession and production of child pornography and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. In May 2010, the principal of the Catholic elementary school where Father Ratigan was working had sent a memo to the diocese raising alarm about the priest. The letter said that he had put a girl on his lap on a bus ride and encouraged children to reach into his pockets for candy, and that parents discovered girl’s underwear in a planter outside his house. Finn said he did not read the letter until a year later. In December, 2010, a computer technician and a deacon informed the diocese of several "alarming" photos on Ratigan's laptop. Catholic canon law and Federal law, as well as the diocese's own policies, mandated that the diocese report any allegations of sexual abuse. Diocesan officials contacted a police officer and the diocesan attorney the next day, both of whom said that the images did not constitute child pornography and thus there was no crime to report either to a diocesan review board or to the police.

The next day, Ratigan was discovered unconscious in his closed garage, his motorcycle running, along with a suicide note apologizing to the children, their families and the church. Finn sought psychiatric treatment for Ratigan and in February, 2011, imposed seven restrictions on Ratigan, including the instruction to "avoid all contact with children." In March, however, it was reported to Finn that Ratigan had been present at a six-year-old girl's birthday party, and in May, Finn disclosed the existence of the photographs to police. In October, 2011, both the diocese and Finn were indicted for failure to report suspected child abuse, a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of one-year imprisonment or a $1,000 fine, based on the six-month delay in reporting the existence of the photographs. After a brief bench trial, Finn was convicted on one count, acquitted on a second count, and sentenced to two years probation, and charges against the diocese were dropped. The Vatican announced the bishop's resignation April 21, 2015, specifying it was under the terms of the Code of Canon Law, which says, "A diocesan bishop who has become less able to fulfill his office because of ill health or some other grave cause is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office."

Bishops of Kansas City

1. John Joseph Hogan (1880-1913)
2. Thomas Francis Lillis (1913-1938)
3. Edwin Vincent O'Hara (1939-1956), elevated to Archbishop (ad personam) in 1954

Bishops of Kansas City-Saint Joseph

1. John Patrick Cody (1956-1961), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and Archbishop of New Orleans and later Archbishop of Chicago (elevated to Cardinal in 1967)
2. Charles Herman Helmsing (1962-1977)
3. John J. Sullivan (1977-1993)
4. Raymond James Boland (1993-2005)
5. Robert W. Finn (2005-2015)
6. James Vann Johnston, Jr. (2015-present)

Coadjutor Bishops

• John J. Glennon (1896-1903), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later Archbishop of St. Louis (elevated to Cardinal in 1946)
• John P. Cody (1954-1956)
• Robert W. Finn (2004-2005)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

• Joseph Hubert Hart, appointed Auxiliary Bishop and later Bishop of Cheyenne
• William Wakefield Baum, appointed Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and later Archdiocese of Washington, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, and Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary (created a Cardinal in 1976)
• Michael Francis McAuliffe, appointed Bishop of Jefferson City
• Lawrence James McNamara, appointed Bishop of Grand Island

High schools

Closed high schools