Nessel Warns Catholic Church: Let State Investigate Clergy Sexual Abuse

By Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press
February 21, 2019

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/02/21/catholic-church-abuse-michigan/2936561002/

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel accused Catholic Church leaders of not fully cooperating with law enforcement, telling them to stop "self-policing" and allow state investigators to probe sexual abuse by clergy.

Speaking Thursday at her first news conference, Nessel said she will continue the investigations into Michigan's seven Catholic dioceses launched under her predecessor, former Attorney General Bill Schuette. Schuette conducted raids in October at dioceses in Michigan that involved 70 police officers and 14 assistant attorney generals, Nessel said.

Nessel told victims of abuse and others to speak with state investigators rather than Catholic officials, expressing concern that nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) are being used to discourage victims of abuse to speak with law enforcement authorities.

"Stop self-policing" and let the state do its investigations, she said. "Our office is conducting a thorough investigation and it's important we be able to talk with any and all victims harmed by these egregious acts without the intervention of the church."

"If an investigator comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their badge and not their rosary," Nessel said. "And here's why that matters. Because many churches and diocese appear to be self policing and encouraging parishioners to report abuse to them so they can conduct their own internal investigations. We've heard many stories from victims who have been encouraged to take settlements and sign NDAs or nondisclosure agreements. And victims may believe that they cannot or should not report abuse to us because the church is going to handle it and simply put, that's just not true. Firstly, if you signed an NDA, you still have a right and I would say a responsibility to speak to law enforcement authorities. An NDA will not protect the church."

Nessel was joined at the news conference by the head of Michigan State Police, Col. Joe Gasper, who echoed Nessel's remarks.

"I also want to echo your comments regarding the importance of reporting tips directly to law enforcement," Gasper said. "We take all leads seriously and it's critically important that we hear directly from you when you have information to provide."

In response, the Archdiocese of Detroit issued a statement contesting some of Nessel's points, saying it wants to "clarify some of the broad generalizations made during today’s press conference."

The statement said: "The Archdiocese of Detroit does not self-police. We encourage all victims to report abuse directly to law enforcement. When we learn of an allegation of sexual abuse of minors, we immediately notify law enforcement authorities, in accordance with the agreements we have had in place with them since 2002..."

Ned McGrath, director of public affairs at the Archdiocese of Detroit, criticized Nessel's remarks about how investigators should have badges, not rosaries.

“The rosary is a treasured devotion of the Catholic Church," McGrath told the Free Press. "And it’s troubling to have it used as a punch line. Here’s hoping future statements show no additional disrespect.”

The Archdiocese also took issue with Nessel's remarks on NDAs:

"Since 2002, the Archdiocese of Detroit has not entered into any nondisclosure agreements, unless specifically requested by a survivor of abuse, as required by the Catholic Church in the United States. In addition, the archdiocese does not enforce any nondisclosure agreements signed prior to 2002 ..."

Nessel's remarks happen to come on the same day that Pope Francis kicked off a four-day summit at the Vatican to discuss the issue of sexual abuse among clergy. Michigan has about 2 million Catholics.

Michigan is one of more than a dozen states that launched investigations after a report released last year by the Pennsylvania Attorney General showed extensive abuse by priests and cover-ups by Catholic leaders.

Nessel said they have received 300 tips so far and are reviewing hundreds of thousands of pages of documents.

Nessel compared the reaction of Catholic Church leaders to the reaction of leaders at Michigan State University to the sexual abuse of Larry Nassar.

"The clergy abuse investigation is jarringly similar to the MSU investigation in that both institutions when confronted with a public sex abuse scandal, publicly pledged their cooperation with law enforcement authorities, but it failed to deliver on those public promises," Nessel said. "And regrettably, it would seem as though these two powerful institutions care more about protecting their brand than the people they serve."

Nessel said victims should contact law enforcement even if the statute of limitations to prosecute has ended.

"We may not be able to charge every priest, but our office will be sending letters to the diocese when we find credible allegations, and we ask that the diocese step up and deal with these abusers and protect people from them when the statute of limitations keeps us from being able to do that ourselves, which is often the case, or frankly, when there are other unethical acts that are uncovered," Nessel said.

The Archdiocese said in response that "the state of Michigan’s mandated reporting laws have been in place for decades. Through the years, we have strongly supported expansions to the list, including the addition of clergy. The Archdiocese of Detroit regularly educates all mandated reporters of their duties to report sexual abuse or neglect of minors."

Nessel said her office has sent letters to parishes asking them to inform their members of the state's investigations.

She encouraged victims of abuse or those who may know about possible abuse to contact the state through its hotline.

The Archdiocese of Detroit said in its statement that when it "became aware of the Attorney General’s request for parishes to publicize the state’s tip line, we immediately offered to help our parishes facilitate the publication of that material."

The Archdiocese of Detroit also said it "has not been asked by the Attorney General’s Office to stop its internal review process. These internal investigations are required under Church law, and their purpose is to restrict or remove from ministry anyone who has committed sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult."

During her news conference, Nessel also spoke about her investigations into the Flint water crisis and Michigan State University over abuse tied to Larry Nassar.

Col. Gasper of Michigan State Police said "we are committed to seeking justice for all the victims in the cases and we were also equally committed to ensuring that we conduct a thorough and proper investigation."

In its statement Thursday, the Archdiocese of Detroit also said:

"Since the Attorney General’s investigation began, the Archdiocese of Detroit has not received notification from that office regarding credible accusations against any of our priests. Should we become aware of such a complaint, we will act immediately."

To listen to Nessel's remarks during the news conference, click here for the livestream.

To read the full response from the Archdiocese of Detroit to the Michigan Attorney General's remarks, click here.

Contact Niraj Warikoo:nwarikoo@freepress.com or on Twitter @nwarikoo

To report abuse

The information below is from the Michigan Attorney General on how to report abuse in the Catholic Church.

Call the investigation hotline at 844-324-3374 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday) or send information by email to aginvestigations@michigan.gov.

Or click here for a form that the state says allows you to be anonymous in submitting tips.