CV NEWS FEED // Bishop Edward M. Lohse has issued his response to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s May 20 report on clergy sex abuse within the Diocese of Kalamazoo.
“Today we are confronted with a disturbing truth,” Bishop Lohse said during a May 23 press conference following the publication of the report. “The sexual abuse of minors by priests here in the nine counties of the Diocese of Kalamazoo is a historic reality.”
The Attorney General’s report includes 65 tips and 345,178 documents linked to allegations of sexual abuse against clergy members, of which 19 are listed in the report. Accusations include grooming and sexual assault of children, teen, and adult victims.
Of the priests named in the report, 12 were ordained in Kalamazoo and seven came from other dioceses or religious orders, according to a statement from the Diocese. Twelve are accused of abusing minors, five of misconduct with adults, and 2 of both minors and adults.
While the majority of minor abuse listed in the report is alleged to have occurred within the Diocese, four instances of minor abuse by Kalamazoo priests are alleged to have occurred outside the Diocese.
“It is tragic, appalling, and inexcusable,” Lohse continued, adding: “No one knows this better than you who are the victim-survivors of that abuse. You were entrusted to our care, and we failed to protect you. There is no other way to put it. For that failure, I am deeply sorry.”
According to a local Fox 17 report, the AG’s office had previously released reports on the Marquette Diocese and Gaylord Diocese, and reports from four additional Michigan dioceses are still pending.
Lohse further announced that the Diocese would unveil updated policy for the protection of children and youth. And while he noted that it would not “erase what happened in the past,” the Diocese’s current policies for child protection “are some of the best out there.”
Last month, the Diocese released a list of individuals who are prohibited from ministering, working, or volunteering with children in any parish, school, agency, institution, or Catholic entity located within the Diocese.
“Individuals appear on the list because, in the judgment of the Diocese of Kalamazoo, they have been credibly accused of actions that disqualify and prohibit them from working or volunteering with children or youth,” the Diocese said.
The Diocese has a notable array of resources available to victim-survivors of sexual abuse, including financial support for counseling costs, and a free 10-week program for individuals with childhood trauma related to abuse. That program has aided over 600 people since its launch in 2006.
“In truth, clergy sexual abuse has affected the entire community of believers,” the Bishop concluded:
It affects those who work with survivors trying to provide some measure of healing, and it has taken a toll on those priests themselves who have never abused anyone, who have remained faithful to their calling, and who have been deeply betrayed by those whom they had called their brothers.
As a diocese, we must minister to all of these people, but I want to be clear: none hold a greater importance for us than the victim-survivors themselves.
