Michigan Catholic parish to host party honoring priest suspended for child sexual abuse allegations
Pastor claims event was supposed to be "private" despite two public announcements in the bulletin inviting parishioners to attend
An announcement in Holy Spirit’s May 4 bulletin exclaims, “LET’S CELEBRATE!” Parishioners are enthusiastically invited to a public gathering at the parish Activity Center on May 10 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Fr. Richard Lobert’s ordination to the priesthood. “Please join in the celebration of how God has blessed us through his priestly service,” the bulletin announcement reads.
A second public announcement, included in the “Father John’s Corner” section of the bulletin, repeats the invitation for the parish community to join in festivities with Fr. Lobert. “Of course, I’m also looking forward to the anniversary of Fr. Lobert’s 50th anniversary [sic] as a priest […]. I hope you can join us to celebrate his great life of dedication to God and His church.”
One may assume that all parishioners, including children, are welcome to attend this event honoring a man accused of sexually abusing minors.
Father Lobert’s Bishop Accountability profile paints a startling picture of a priest who has been the target of multiple allegations of sexual abuse. One of Fr. Lobert’s alleged victims fought for justice, all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court.
The St. Mary MacKillop Coalition, a local group that advocates for Catholic abuse victims, has been following Fr. Lobert’s case since 2021. “It is inconceivable that any parish in the Diocese of Lansing would host a party to celebrate an alleged child rapist who is suspended from ministry,” the group posted on X. “Opening it to the public on church property is a violation of safe environment. We expect @bishopboyea to act immediately.”
I emailed Holy Spirit pastor Fr. Jonathan Perrotta to ask him a straight-forward question: “Why is your parish hosting a celebration for a priest under investigation for child sexual abuse?”
I received this response from Fr. Perrotta:
A group of friends coordinated a private gathering to celebrate Fr. Richard Lobert’s 50th anniversary to the priesthood. This is not surprising as Fr. Lobert has been a parishioner here at Holy Spirit Parish Brighton. Given that Fr. Lobert’s priestly faculties have been suspended due to allegations of sexual abuse—allegations that have been well-publicized and are well-known in our parish community—this was intended to be a private event rather than a parish event. At some point, the group coordinating this event asked me whether an announcement could be placed in the bulletin. While it was my intention to keep this event private, I mistakenly approved that announcement. I apologize to anybody who was distressed by the public nature of the notice.
At the same time, I remind all that Fr. Lobert has never been convicted of any misconduct by either ecclesial or civil authorities. He has accepted the suspension of his priestly faculties and continues to await final adjudication of these matters. Again, I apologize for drawing undue attention to something that should have remained private.
The supposedly “private” event still appears on the publicly accessible Holy Spirit parish events online calendar as of the time of this writing. Furthermore, Fr. Perrotta seems to think that the public finding out about their celebration for Fr. Lobert is the big scandal, not that the parish is having the party in the first place.
This was not a "mistake." Grabbing black socks when you meant to grab white socks is a "mistake." The pastor made a bad decision. He approved two announcements in his parish bulletin to publicize celebrating a priest suspended for sexual abuse allegations. Father Perrotta should take responsibility for his bad decision.
Anything less than Holy Spirit parish canceling the event and publicly apologizing is unacceptable.
If you appreciate my journalism and advocacy, please consider buying me a coffee. ☕
Thanks for writing and posting this.