GRAND RAPIDS (MI)
Detroit Catholic [Archdiocese of Detroit MI]
December 15, 2025
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office released a report Dec. 15 detailing allegations of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, the fifth of seven expected reports related to an investigation into the handling of abuse cases in each of Michigan’s Catholic dioceses.
Like Michigan’s other dioceses, the Diocese of Grand Rapids has “cooperated fully with the Office of the Michigan Attorney General since the launch of its investigation in 2018,” Grand Rapids Bishop David J. Walkowiak said in a letter to the faithful in response to the report.
“As part of the investigation, the Diocese gave the Attorney General’s Office our internal files, which they have retained for the past seven years,” Bishop Walkowiak said. “We share a common goal in this investigation — to shine a light into the darkness of sexual abuse and to better understand how we can improve our efforts to protect children and other vulnerable people.”
The report details allegations dating back to 1950 and involving both diocesan and religious order priests who have served in the Diocese of Grand Rapids.
The allegations listed in the report “(do) not reflect a determination by the Department that the allegations are credible or otherwise substantiated or indicative of a crime,” the Attorney General’s report states.
Over that 75-year period, the report details allegations of abuse against 152 victims by 51 priests serving in the Diocese of Grand Rapids. During that time frame, more than 1,000 priests have served the diocese.
Of the 51 priests, 37 are known or presumed to be dead. Of the 14 living priests, “none are in active ministry in the Diocese of Grand Rapids,” and no additional charges have been filed against any of the priests listed in the report as a result of the investigation, the Attorney General’s Office said.
The report includes allegations of clergy misconduct involving both minors and adults, including “details on consensual relationships between priests and adults,” Bishop Walkowiak said. Allegations against 14 of the 51 accused priests involve misconduct with adults.
All of the allegations involving minors occurred before 2002, the year the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted its Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, Bishop Walkowiak said.