MICHIGAN
The Detroit News
Archdioscese of Detroit finds Mount Clemens priest ‘negligent’ in duties by delaying to report suspected abuse
LAUREN ABDEL-RAZZAQ THE DETROIT NEWS
The Archdioscese of Detroit has concluded an investigation into a Mount Clemens priest accused of not informing police quickly enough when an usher sexually abused a teen at a church event.
The abuse took place in the final months of 2011 on the St. Peter Parish property.
Rev. Michael Cooney was suspended from Feb. – April 2012, and following that, a panel of canon lawyers launched an investigation. More than two years later, the panel’s findings have been reported to Archbishop Allen Vigneron.
The report states that Cooney “was negligent in performing his duties as pastor of St. Peter Parish, Mount Clemens, by failing to properly report the suspected abuse of a minor in a timely manner and failing to take proper measures to protect an alleged victim,” according to a press release from the Archdiocese.
The panel determined that although the pastor advised a family member to report the abuse to authorities, he had the responsibility to report the abuse immediately when he learned of it.
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