The Ongoing and Unjust Persecution of a Holy Priest

A look at the railroading of a faithful Priest by his Bishop and the police.

From Catholic365

By Michael Sirbanddia

Photo by St. Charles Borromeo
Seminary on Unsplash

(Dear Reader: Below is a summary and assessment of various events and actions that took place from roughly July 2019 to the recent present.  It is not an exhaustive account, but it does present many important details.  The factual material is gleaned from various newspaper accounts, video presentations, and information provided to yours truly by a few people quite familiar with Assumption Grotto Parish in Detroit, Michigan, and though I believe the facts presented are quite accurate, the nature of the sources used make it likely that some of the facts as presented will not be 100% on target.  Nevertheless, even with some inevitable inaccuracies, the account of what is presented as factual is essentially true while comments interspersed with the facts are my opinions based on my interpretation of the facts.) 

Back in early July of 2019, newspapers, online news wires, and even some cable news outlets reported that Father Eduard Perrone, long-time Pastor of Assumption Grotto Church in Detroit, Michigan, and known for being a more traditional and holy priest, was suspended from his pastoral and priestly duties because of an allegedly repressed memory coming to light that resulted in a wild accusation that Fr. Perrone improperly groped an altar boy while he, other adults, and other altar boys were swimming at a lake party some 40 years earlier in 1979.  Despite numerous testimonials on behalf of Fr. Perrone, including a written testimonial of 50-plus former altar boys who had served alongside Fr. Perrone on the altar over the years, and who also witnessed his actions in a variety of casual settings (including the lake swimming) wherein not even a hint of misconduct by Fr. Perrone was ever observed, the Archdiocese of Detroit, led by Archbishop Allen Vigneron and his appointed deputy Monsignor G. Michael Bugarin, decided to persecute Fr. Perrone based on the slightest possibility alone that the “repressed memory” claim against him might be true no matter how unlikely such was the case.  This so-called standard is absurd and violates sound Catholic Moral Principles of Justice, yet it has been used for many years now, not only against Fr. Perrone, but against other priests as well by over-zealous prelates kowtowing to secular pressures to persecute all priests merely accused of sexual abuse instead of properly acting in accordance with Catholic Morality in pursuit of actual justice.  Under this practice that also smacks of wrongful clericalism, Church authorities can suspend a priest from his priestly office for alleged sexual misconduct if a claim made against him is simply determined to be “credible,” but as set forth above, the meaning of “credible” ridiculously accepted by Church authorities is “a mere possibility that a claim is true” instead of the more accurate and just meaning of “credible” as “something objectively worthy of belief.”  Based on this morally sound understanding, accusations alone are not to be deemed credible unless they are supported by objective evidence.  Nevertheless, Church authorities continue to employ the irrational meaning of “credible,” which is maddeningly outrageous, and that’s an understatement.

In his excellent book on clergy sexual abuse published last year, Catholic League President Bill Donohue favorably cites Father Thomas Guarino regarding this unjust standard of “credibility” used by Church authorities to persecute priests:

“Father Thomas G. Guarino, a professor of theology at Seton Hall University, is a brilliant champion of the rights of priests.  He argues that ‘almost every accusation is deemed “credible’’ unless the accused can prove that thirty years ago (and most accusations are from decades long past) he was on a different continent when the alleged abuse occurred.  In other words, “credible” has come to mean “not entirely impossible.”” (See The Truth About Clergy Sexual Abuse: Clarifying the Facts and the Causes, 2021, p. 45.)

And so based on the unjust “standard” of a mere possibility that something improper occurred 40 years earlier, Fr. Perrone was removed from office and also subjected to the ignominy of having his name posted on the Archdiocese of Detroit’s website as a priest “credibly accused” of sexual misconduct.  More egregious injustice courtesy of the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Over the past few years, Fr. Perrone voluntarily took two separate lie detector tests at different times, and he “passed” each one with vividly flying colors. After at least one of the tests was completed, the test proctor commented that Fr. Perrone’s responses were of the kind that only innocent people provide.  Of course, such tests are not admissible in court, and some people can “beat” the tests, but coupled with everything else in Fr. Perrone’s favor, these lie detector tests also serve to further illustrate his complete innocence.

Fr. Perrone also ultimately prevailed in a lawsuit filed against a Macomb County, Michigan police detective who worked closely with Msgr. Bugarin to spin the statement made by Fr. Perrone’s accuser into something the accuser himself flatly denied ever saying.  Later the accuser even withdrew his accusation against Fr. Perrone.  An arbitration panel eventually awarded Fr. Perrone $125,000 for the damage done by the detective (who is also a member of Msgr. Bugarin’s parish; how convenient, eh?), but none of this mattered to the Archdiocese of Detroit.  Onward it went with the persecution of Fr. Perrone, and when supporters of Fr. Perrone believed that more than enough exonerating facts had come to light so Fr. Perrone would soon be rightly restored to his parish, they were treated instead to the Archdiocese advising them that the case was “now” in the hands of Rome, so they had to wait for Rome’s decision.  Did the Archdiocese do anything on behalf of Fr. Perrone to fully inform Rome of exonerating developments and perhaps expedite a favorable outcome from Rome?  This is highly unlikely since the Archdiocese wanted to continue the case against Fr. Perrone for alleged sexual abuse, but after more agonizing months suffered by Fr. Perrone in suspension limbo, in April of 2021 the Vatican told the Archdiocese to take a hike as they found no reason to continue with the case.  Surely now, it was believed at that time, after almost two years of the persecution, Fr. Perrone would be fully restored to his parish to resume his pastoral duties,…right?

Wrong again!  Instead of finally doing the right thing by apologizing to Fr. Perrone for the wrongdoing he suffered at their hands, and welcoming him back to where he belonged, the Archdiocese had one devastating trump card they could play, and play it they did.

Having had his reputation wrongly damaged in public by Msgr. Bugarin who provided statements to the secular press that falsely cast Fr. Perrone into a most unfavorable light, and having not received any kind of justice from the Archdiocese of Detroit he faithfully served for much of his life, Fr. Perrone had also filed a civil defamation lawsuit against Msgr. Bugarin, and when he was ordered by Archbishop Vigneron to withdraw the lawsuit (there may have been a few more lawsuits as well also ordered to be withdrawn), Fr. Perrone refused because some very serious public wrongs still needed to be made right.  Alas, by so refusing the Archbishop’s order, Fr. Perrone did, apparently, commit a canonical offense, and so even though his refusal to follow the order of Archbishop Vigneron was understandable, and Rome had virtually exonerated him of the false charge of sexual abuse, Fr. Perrone gave grounds for the Archdiocese to continue to persecute him, and so the Archdiocese of Detroit kept Fr. Perrone suspended because of his refusal to obey the order to withdraw his civil lawsuit or lawsuits.  Interestingly, it is highly likely that Fr. Perrone would have withdrawn any and all lawsuits had the Archdiocese of Detroit agreed to fully restore him to his office and restore his good name as well, but the Archdiocese wanted to keep beating Fr. Perrone into submission.

More time passed, and then, finally, an ecclesiastical tribunal very recently found Fr. Perrone guilty of disobedience, and it imposed penalties upon him, two of which have been made public (it is unknown if others are also in play).  His suspension as Pastor of Assumption Grotto has been made permanent, and he will not be allowed to assume any church office until he gives up all of the lawsuits he filed.  He must also make “necessary reparations” (whatever they may be, but subsequent actions reveal that a public apology is part of the reparations).  A seeming silver lining in all of this is that Fr. Perrone, once he completes a required initial groveling of some specific actions and continues to grovel before the Archdiocese of Detroit, may be allowed to resume some limited priestly duties.

Many supporters of Fr. Perrone immediately expressed righteous indignation over the outcome of the ecclesiastical hearing, correctly reasoning that Fr. Perrone was wronged time and time and time again over the course of some three years by Archbishop Vigneron and Msgr. Bugarin, yet the one offense of disobeying an order that commanded Fr. Perrone to stop defending his innocence and reputation in civil courts has been deemed, in essence, much more harmful than what was done to him that triggered the lawsuits in the first place, and so various penalties including the order to make a public apology were imposed on the persecuted priest.  Many wanted Fr. Perrone to continue the good fight, but seeing that such would take more time pounding his head against the proverbial brick wall, and at least having the opportunity to likely resume some priestly duties by accepting the tribunal’s decree, Fr. Perrone has decided to do the demanded groveling.  As part of this groveling, below is a copy of his Public Apology that looks like it was probably created by the Archdiocese for Fr. Perrone to either accept and sign or remain suspended from all priestly duties indefinitely.  Fr. Perrone would not sign an objectively false statement, but the apology as written does not by any means tell the whole story since the wrongdoing of Msgr. Bugarin and Archbishop Vigneron are of course not mentioned, and the way it reads you would think that they were persecuted by Fr. Perrone instead of the other way around.

Statement of Public Apology by Fr. Eduard Perrone

“February 17, 2022

During the investigative process regarding allegations concerning me, I made public comments about and filed a lawsuit against Msgr. G. Michael Bugarin that contained invective characterizations of his actions and motivations. I maintained the civil suit against Msgr. Bugarin even after the Archbishop ordered me to withdraw it. These actions of mine caused harm to the reputations of Msgr. Bugarin and the Archbishop and impeded the process of the investigation.

The Archdiocese then began a canonical penal process regarding my conduct during the original investigation. At the conclusion of that process, I was found guilty of willful disobedience to the legitimate commands of the Archbishop, of impeding the freedom of the Archbishop and his Vicars in the fulfillment of their ecclesiastical ministry, specifically in conducting a preliminary investigation in my regard, and, by means of my public statements, of injuring the good reputation of Msgr. Bugarin.

I accept and respect the decision of the Ecclesiastical Court and will not be appealing it. I wish now to repair any scandal caused to the Archdiocese by the suit and any damage I have caused to Archbishop Vigneron's or Msgr. Bugarin's reputation from my public comments. As a sincere follower of Christ and as a priest of His holy Church, I wish to apologize to the Archbishop and Msgr. Bugarin for any scandal these actions of mine have caused and state publicly that I am truly sorry for them.

Further, I have instructed my attorneys to withdraw all pending civil cases and appeals.

Additionally, in the hope of healing and reconciliation, I call upon the parishioners of Assumption Grotto and all my supporters to follow my lead and renew our support and loyalty to Archbishop Vigneron and to renounce any want of charity that may have resulted from my actions.

Respectfully in Christ,

Fr. Eduard Perrone”
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Moving forward, Fr. Perrone’s persecutors will almost certainly never do the right thing by apologizing to him for their misconduct and the unnecessary harm they inflicted upon him, and it is they or their appointees who will continue to determine what Fr. Perrone can or cannot do to serve God as He was called to do, and for which he has distinguished himself among the very best of priests for more than 40 years.  Please pray that true justice will soon be granted to Fr. Perrone, and that many more blessings will be showered upon him from Heaven.  Also pray for Archbishop Vigneron and Msgr. Bugarin, and ask the Holy Spirit to unharden their hearts and grant them an increase in charity, humility, wisdom, and mercy so they will, even if just for the health of their own souls, never do to another innocent priest what they did to Fr. Perrone.

Magna est veritas et praevalebit