The child pornography case involving Fr. Shawn Ratigan, 45, a priest in the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, under the direction of Bishop Robert W. Finn, was shocking enough in the first version, as reported by NCR-- disturbing images of young children on Ratigan's computer, a perfunctory, at best, examination of the material, a secret transfer of the priest to a convent, no subsequent action or notice when Ratigan attempted suicide last December, and no notification to the review board. And then only this month suspending the priest after extensive files of child pornography were discovered on his computer and he was arrested.Now it turns out -- thanks again to NCR (bravo, Joe Feuerherd!) -- that a full year ago the principal of a Catholic elementary school wrote to Bishop Finn's vicar general, the second-ranking diocesan official, with a clear warning about Ratigan's suspicious behavior with children and detailed examples. Ratigan apparently received a talking to by a top chancery official, but nothing further was done and no one outside the chancery was alerted.Finn's spokesperson, Rebecca Summers, told NCR that the bishops 2002 charter says diocesan review boards should be convened only when you have a specific allegation of abuse by a priest or other person in diocesan ministry.We did not have that, said Summers. The charter did not address a situation such as this.Well, maybe common sense and concern for the welfare of children should have filled in those gaps in the charter. But this snowballing scandal, and under the watch of one of the more outspoken conservatives in the U.S. hierarchy, should certainly give the bishops impetus (if they didn't have enough after the Philly grand jury revelations) to take some serious action when they meet next month in Seattle. That will require surrendering some degree of control. Can it be done, politically and theologically?UPDATE: NCR reports that at a press conference today Bishop Finn said he was given a brief verbal summary of the principal's letter by Father Murphy, the vicar general, a year ago and had only read it in its entirety for the first time last night. So he was aware of Ratigan's problem months before he was told about the questionable photos of children on Ratigan's computer. Father Murphy certainly doesn't come off well, but the bishop knew about Ratigan's history and there must have been a personnel file with this info when Finn made his first discreet inquiry to a police officer.