LANSING (MI)
Detroit News [Detroit MI]
December 16, 2024
By Kara Berg
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released the fourth of seven reports Monday related to a years-long investigation into clergy sexual abuse within Michigan’s Catholic dioceses.
The report indicated that the investigation into the Diocese of Lansing, which began in September 2018, found that 48 priests, three religious brothers, one apparent former religious brother and four deacons may have engaged in sexual misconduct since 1950. Of the 56 total, 42 were ordained or incardinated by the Diocese of Lansing.
“By publishing these reports we are sharing their stories and validating their experiences,” Nessel said during a press conference Monday afternoon. “We hope this report provides a voice to those who have suffered in silence for so long.”
Diocese of Lansing Bishop Earl Boyea said he is deeply sorry that anyone was sexually abused or sexually assaulted by any clergy members.
“Having read this long and detailed report, my heart breaks for all those who have suffered due to the evil of clerical sexual abuse which is a great betrayal of Jesus Christ, His Holy Church, the priesthood, and, most gravely, those victims — and their families — who were harmed physically, emotionally, but above all spiritually when they were so young,” Boyea said in a statement. “To all those injured by such criminal and immoral actions I say clearly and without hesitation: these terrible things should never have happened to you.”
Criminal charges were issued in 11 cases throughout the state, Nessel said, resulting in nine convictions. Two of those cases were related to priests in the Diocese of Lansing and one was resulted to an apparent former religious brother.
Vincent DeLorenzo, a priest at Holy Redeemer Church in Burton, was sentenced to one year in jail and five years of probation in June 2023 for one count of the attempted first-degree criminal sexual conduct of a 5-year-old boy. DeLorenzo died in January while serving his sentence.
Timothy Crowley, a priest at St. Thomas Rectory in Ann Arbor, was sentenced to one year in jail and five years of probation in November 2023 on two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor three decades ago.
Joseph Comperchio, a church organist and Catholic school drama and music teacher at St. John Catholic School in Jackson who held himself out to be a Catholic brother, was sentenced in August 2021 to 10 to 30 years in prison for sexually assaulting four children. Comperchio died in 2022 while serving his sentence.
The Lansing investigation yielded 161 tips to the AG tipline, 44 of which came from the Diocese of Lansing. The majority of reported abuse or assaults were against children, though there were five priests alleged to have assaulted adults. The majority of the alleged abuse occurred before 2002, and the peak period was in the 1970s and 1980s, according to the report.
37 of the priests and deacons are known or presumed to be dead. Only one, Deacon James Corder, is in active ministry with the Diocese of Lansing. Nessel said he has not been charged for his alleged abuse of a minor. Three are retired but do not have any restrictions on their ministry, but don’t appear to have any active assignments.
Assistant Attorney General Danielle Hagaman-Clark said there were still open investigations.
The inclusion in the report does not mean the allegations are credible or substantiated, Nessel said.
The purpose of the investigation was to see if criminal charges could be filed against clergy members who engaged in sexual misconduct or sexual abuse, and to see if the Archdiocese and Dioceses were properly reporting the sexual abuse of minors.
In many cases throughout the state investigation, the statute of limitations blocked prosecution on decades-old allegations, the priests had already passed away, a victim was unwilling to appear in court or there simply wasn’t enough evidence to bring a case to trial.
“Criminal prosecutions are just one accountability metric,” Nessel said in a statement Monday. “Ensuring each victim is heard, regardless of how long ago the sexual abuse and misconduct may have been, is important in acknowledging their pain and fostering a culture that prioritizes these victims over their silence.”
The report issued Monday is the fourth of seven reports released related to an investigation that began under Republican former Attorney General Bill Schuette in 2018. Nessel has released reports on the Dioceses of Marquette, Gaylord and Kalamazoo.
Law enforcement conducted simultaneous raids on Michigan’s seven dioceses Oct. 3, 2018 as part of the investigation and recovered 220 boxes of paper documents and 3.5 million electronic documents.
Diocese of Lansing’s General Counsel, Will Bloomfield, said when the AG’s office raided the dioceses’ offices, they expected to find “ongoing crimes and a coverup.”
“Instead, they found a partner equally committed to eradicating abuse and files showing diocesan cooperation with law enforcement for over twenty years,” Bloomfield said. “Tragically, there have been awful instances of abuse, nearly all predating the 2002 Bishop’s Charter, but it’s encouraging that the Church’s zero tolerance policy towards sexual abuse of minors has been working as most accounts of abuse predate the Charter. And since at least 2002, the Diocese has been referring all allegations to law enforcement and removing any clerics credibly accused of abuse of a minor.”
In 2002, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a charter creating procedures for addressing sexual abuse allegations priests in response to the scandal.