Report details abuse allegations against clergy in Diocese of Gaylord

GAYLORD — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released a report on Monday detailing sexual abuse allegations that took place in the Diocese of Gaylord.

The Attorney General's report includes allegations against 26 priests and two deacons who served in the Diocese of Gaylord. Of the 28, 16 are known or presumed to be dead. Of the remaining 12, three remain in active ministry. Allegations against the three allegedly involved adult victims and no criminal charges have been filed against them.

The list of priests for which there were allegations of sexual misconduct against either children or adults was obtained from a search warrant issued in 2018, and from the tip line operated by the Department of Attorney General.

The criminal prosecution of many of the allegations is barred by the statute of limitations, or because the accused priest is deceased, or for other allegations because the conduct did not violate Michigan law or the person who alleged the sexual abuse did not wish to pursue criminal charges.

To date, the AG department has issued criminal charges in 11 cases throughout the state and secured convictions in nine of them. Of those nine cases, none involved priests ministering in the Diocese of Gaylord.

“Our promise to the victims was that every case of sexual abuse and assault would be thoroughly reviewed and that the results of the investigation would be transparent,” Nessel said in a statement. “I especially want to thank the survivors who have shared their stories, sometimes for the first time after decades of silence. Their willingness to come forward has helped bring attention to an issue that has affected so many in our state and our country, especially children.”

Responding to the report, Bishop Jeffrey J. Walsh expressed "deep sorrow and shame, especially to the victims and to their families. The painful reality of sexual abuse by members of the clergy all around the world has roiled the Catholic Church for several decades now."

Walsh believes the report and actions taken by the church should instill confidence in those who believe they may have been a victim of abuse.

"Yes I would very much hope so. It is a very important part of what I know my role as the bishop is and the environment we have created. Any victim that will come forward will receive the pastoral care that is due," he said.

The willingness of the diocese to provide information was instrumental in the compilation of the report, according to the AG's office. The diocese said 85% of the alleged incidents in the report took place before 2000. The report was shared with the diocese in advance of being released to the public to ensure accuracy.

For Gaylord, the investigation yielded 10 tips to the AG tipline. Four of those were provided directly from the diocese. Of the 220 boxes of paper documents that were seized from the Archdiocese and the six Dioceses, approximately 21 boxes of documents were seized and reviewed related to the Diocese of Gaylord. Of the 3.5 million electronic documents seized, approximately 700,000 digital documents were reviewed related to the Diocese of Gaylord.

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The Diocese of Gaylord includes Catholic churches in 21 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula.

Nessel's office intends to release reports on abuse allegations for the other dioceses in Michigan. Information about priest misconduct can be reported to an investigation hotline at (844) 324-3374, or by email at aginvestigations@michigan.gov.

— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Report details abuse allegations against clergy in Diocese of Gaylord