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February 28, 200410 cases in area dioceseLast complaint was in 1989ByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The Diocese of Gaylord said it welcomed the chance to participate in two studies and an audit examining the number and nature of complaints made against Catholic priests. "Credible" complaints have been filed against 10 out of the 260 priests that served in the 21-county diocese since its 1971 formation, said Candace Neff, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Gaylord. None of those 10 accused priests are in active ministry, Neff said. Four are dead and the others have resigned or been removed. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned two reports. Their findings were made public in aggregate Friday but did not include a breakdown, leaving that to individual dioceses to make public. Figures from church officials in Michigan showed that the Archdiocese of Detroit and the state's six dioceses show credible accusations of sexual misconduct against as many as 114 priests and deacons since 1950. "What we have here is a terrible chapter of church history," said Cardinal Adam Maida, leader of the Archdiocese of Detroit. "We wish it never had happened. But it is our history. ... We learn from our history ... and we must move forward." The count for Michigan could overstate the number of priests accused if the same priest was accused in different dioceses, since not every report listed priests by name. Not all reports said how many minors were abused. The Gaylord diocese also took part last year in an audit to check compliance with a charter passed by American bishops. Neff said the diocese volunteered information in 2002, when it disclosed records to area prosecutors of sexual misconduct allegations dating back to the diocese's formation. The Gaylord diocese was one of the first in the nation to submit its data for the two studies, Neff said. A total of 20 individuals reported to the diocese that "they were victims" of misconduct, Neff said. The most recent allegation occurred in 1989. Most of the reported occurrences of abuse happened in the 1970's, Neff said. Since 1971, the diocese has entered into one $50,000 settlement agreement resulting from an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor. Insurance reimbursed that amount. The diocese has also spent $8,260 to assist victims with counseling. "The whole study is about ... finding out what happened, and that is why we did the review two years ago," Neff said. "We can't change history, we can't change what happened, but we can certainly learn from it and do what we can to prevent it." Corinna Weber, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said each Michigan diocese cooperated with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the National Review Board studies. Nationally, Meghan Dotter of the U.S. Conference Of Catholic Bishops said 97 percent of the dioceses participated in the two studies. Bishop Patrick R. Cooney of the Gaylord Diocese said in a prepared statement that he was amazed by the extent of the abuse reported nationally. "It has been and is just a terrible experience; obviously, I have tremendous sorrow for the pain suffered by the victims of this abuse...," he said. "We as a church must continue to do the things that will limit anything like this from ever happening again." The Associated Press contributed to this report
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