Report: KC diocese put children in jeopardy

(RNS) The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph could have
put children in jeopardy when it failed to follow guidelines for
reporting clergy sexual abuse, according to a report commissioned by the
Missouri-based diocese.

The internal investigation, led by a former U.S. attorney, came
after the Rev. Shawn Ratigan was arrested for possessing child
pornography last May.

A Catholic school principal alerted Bishop Robert Finn to
child-abuse concerns about Ratigan in May 2010, but diocesan officials
failed to prevent the priest from having contact with children,
according to the 141-page report.