Sex Abuse Claim against Dead Priest Deemed Credible

By Ann Zaniewski
Detroit Free Press
May 17, 2019

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/05/17/churc

Allegations of child sexual abuse against a priest who died in 1984 have been deemed credible, the Archdiocese of Detroit announced Friday.

The Rev. Jan (John) Tyminski served in five Detroit parishes beginning in the 1950s: St. Andrew, Resurrection, SS. Peter & Paul (Westside), St. Cunegunda and Immaculate Conception.

Rev. Jan (John) Tyminski, who served in Detroit before his death in 1984, has been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors, the Archdiocese of Detroit announced May 17, 2019. (Photo: Archdiocese of Detroit)

Ned McGrath, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said the archdiocese received a complaint more than a decade ago — but still after Tyminski's death — about him sexually abusing a minor.

A different victim stepped forward within the last few months with a new complaint, McGrath said. That sparked an investigation by the Archdiocesan Review Board. The board, which investigates and considers allegations of clergy sexual abuse and makes recommendations to the archbishop, found the allegations to be credible.

Tyminski was ordained in 1935 in Poland and served in three parishes there. Five years after his ordination, he was incarcerated in concentration camps during World War II.

Tyminski arrived in the U.S. in 1950. He spent a year at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake and then was assigned in 1951 to St. Andrew, in 1954 to Resurrection, in 1963 to SS. Peter & Paul (Westside), in 1966 to St. Cunegunda and in 1969 to Immaculate Conception. He retired in 1976.

The public accusations against Tyminski come as dioceses worldwide grapple with sometimes decades-old reports of sexual abuse by priests. Last August, Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron said priests who have impure relations with others need to repent or get out of the priesthood.

Since 2002, the Archdiocese has publicized the names of clergy removed from ministry because of credible claims of sexual abuse of minors. The names of priests who were found to be credibly abused after their deaths have been made public since 2014.

A full list of clergy credibly accused of abuse is on the archdiocese's website, www.aod.org.

McGrath said the archdiocese encourages victims to come forward, no matter if the abuse occurred "five, 15 or 50 years ago."

People who believe they were hurt by Tyminski or any other priest are urged to contact local enforcement and/or the Michigan Attorney General's Office. They can also reach out to the archdiocese through its victim assistance line at 866-343-8055.

Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com . Follow her on Twitter: @AnnZaniewski.