DETROIT (MI)
Detroit News
January 18, 2019
By Beth LeBlanc
The president and treasurer of a Michigan group that provides legal and moral support for accused priests across the globe are out following state concerns about the oversight of the tax-exempt nonprofit.
Former Attorney General Bill Schuette reached a settlement with Opus Bono Sacerdotii in December, five months after he filed a July cease-and-desist order against the Lapeer County group for alleged violations of Michigan’s nonprofit and charitable solicitation laws.
Prompted by a 2017 complaint from a former employee, Schuette’s 2018 cease-and-desist order came about a month before he launched a far-reaching probe into Michigan’s seven dioceses, essentially an investigation into the clergy Opus Bono assists.
Obus Bono Sacerdotii, whose Latin name means “work for the good of the priesthood,” focuses on helping priests who are “experiencing acute difficulties” and was started by founder and president Joe Maher in 2002. According to the group’s website, Maher helped fund the defense of a parish priest after he was arrested by Detroit police on a sexual abuse allegation. The priest eventually was acquitted
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