Most claims in Michigan AG report on abuse allegations in Lansing Diocese date to '70s, '80s

(OSV News) -- The Michigan Department of Attorney General released its report regarding allegations of clergy sexual abuse and misconduct in the Diocese of Lansing, the fourth of seven expected reports following a nearly six-year investigation involving Michigan's seven Catholic dioceses.

The Lansing report, released Dec. 16, covered a 74-year period from 1950 to 2024, and found the majority of allegations involved instances of sexual abuse said to have taken place in the 1970s and 1980s.

Since October 2022, the attorney general's office has released reports regarding its investigation into the handling of abuse claims in the dioceses of Marquette, Gaylord and Kalamazoo, with reports still expected to be released regarding the dioceses of Saginaw, Grand Rapids and the Archdiocese of Detroit. Each of Michigan's seven dioceses has pledged cooperation with the statewide attorney general's investigation, which began in 2018.

The Diocese of Lansing said in a statement that it "has long cooperated with law enforcement in referring allegations of clerical sexual abuse of minors to the civil authorities," and that the attorney general's report confirms that cooperation.

Like its reports on Michigan's other dioceses, the attorney general's report on the Diocese of Lansing includes both substantiated and unsubstantiated allegations.

In the 74-year period since 1950, the report found allegations of sexual misconduct had been made against 55 clerics, including 48 priests, with 152 total accusations made. More than half of the allegations were said to have taken place in the 1970s or 1980s, and two-thirds of the clerics listed in the report are now deceased. Of the clerics accused, five were criminally convicted of sexually abusing a minor.

"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," Lansing Bishop Earl A. Boyea, who has led the diocese since 2008, 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; I am so deeply sorry that they ever did; please be assured of my prayers, penance, love and support," he added.

Clerics listed in the report include both diocesan and religious order priests, including priests ordained elsewhere but who served in the Diocese of Lansing. Since 1937, a total of 1,691 priests have served in the diocese.

The Diocese of Lansing said no priest subject to an allegation of sexual misconduct has an active assignment in the diocese. The diocese currently lists 23 clerics on its website as being credibly accused of abuse.

During the investigation, the attorney general's office pursued charges against two clerics from the Diocese of Lansing who were later convicted: 75-year-old Timothy Crowley, who was removed from ministry in 2002 and laicized in 2015, and the late Father Vincent DeLorenzo, who was removed from ministry in 2002 and died earlier this year at age 84 before the process of laicization was finalized. In both cases, the Diocese of Lansing had previously referred the allegations to law enforcement, the report found.

Will Bloomfield, general counsel for the Diocese of Lansing, said the report shows the diocese's commitment to cooperating with law enforcement to refer cases of sexual abuse of minors.

"Tragically, there have been awful instances of abuse, nearly all predating the (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' 2002 'Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People'), 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," said Bloomfield, who was an assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan for seven years before joining the diocese in 2019. "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.

"Additionally, since 2019 we have made further reforms to ensure that all allegations of grave clerical misconduct, including those involving adult victims, are professionally investigated and reviewed by a body of lay professionals called the Code of Conduct Advisory Council," Bloomfield added.

Of the 152 allegations listed in the report, 13 were said to have taken place since 2000.

In accordance with the norms established by the U.S. bishops' charter, the Diocese of Lansing said it continues to train both adults and children in every parish, school and diocesan agency to spot signs of possible abuse, which has contributed to a safer environment.

Like other U.S. dioceses, the Diocese of Lansing employs a victim assistance coordinator to help victims heal from abuse, and a safe environment coordinator who implements safeguarding training for staff and volunteers across the diocese.

"We want every parish and school within the diocese to be the safest place you can leave your kids -- that's why, since 2002, the Diocese of Lansing has been training adults and children as part of our Safe Environment Program," said Lisa Kutas, the Diocese of Lansing's chief of staff.

"The Diocese currently has 8,000 adult clerics, staff and volunteers in parishes who are compliant with the Protecting God's Children training and background check requirements," Kutas said. "This year alone, the Diocese has trained over 6,000 children in these sessions. These trainings are working -- although we will never become complacent. We all have a role to play in keeping our kids safe."

In the wake of the report, Bishop Boyea invited all Catholics in the Diocese of Lansing to observe a day of prayer and fasting in reparation Dec. 20.