The suspicious disappearance of Fr. Jim Rolph

Diocese of Lansing priest takes leave after "having trouble establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries"

Fr. Jim Rolph image from the Diocese of Lansing

Note from the author: Sexual abuse is not the only type of abuse that a priest can inflict upon a parishioner. This is a story of alleged, prolonged, subtle spiritual abuse by a priest upon his parishioner under the guise of “deliverance” ministry. One can be guilty of moral crimes even if no secular laws have been broken, and a priest’s “good intentions” do not lessen the harm he may inflict.

“I miss you all!” began the Nov. 4 letter to Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church from pastor Fr. Jim Rolph. The young priest explains to his Lansing, MI parish that his recent two-week absence from the parish was due to being involved in an “evaluation process” meant to help him be the “holy, healthy, happy priest you need.”

Rolph goes on to announce that the Diocese of Lansing is “inviting” him to take an additional two-month leave of absence to seek “deeper mental, emotional, and spiritual healing and growth.” He acknowledges that there will be difficult times ahead for him, but says that he is comforted by the words of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, who said, “You should rejoice rather than to be saddened if God has send you some inconvenience or difficulty; for tribulations usually are the characteristic mark of those He has chosen.”

Completely absent from Rolph’s letter were any reasons why the diocese subjected the priest to this initial “evaluation process” and eventual leave of absence.

While many of Rolph’s Immaculate Heart of Mary parishioners may be in the dark about the circumstances of their pastor’s sabbatical, or the problematic patterns of behavior that prompted his stepping away from ministry, one woman has been quietly sounding the alarm about the priest for nearly four years.

A woman named Nadja filed an official complaint against Rolph with the Diocese of Lansing in January 2020, reporting that she experienced spiritual abuse under Rolph’s care. In the letter, addressed to Bishop Earl Boyea and provided to me by Nadja, she alleges that Rolph took advantage of her fragile mental state at the time and used it as an excuse to become close to her. “There was no question that my vulnerability was obvious,” Nadja writes in the report to the diocese.

She reports that Rolph seemed to take a special interest in her after she began to go to him for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Rolph reportedly began to violate personal boundaries by hugging Nadja in the confessional. Rolph asked Nadja’s permission each time, she recalls. In the moment, Nadja always said yes. But she would later realize that it was not appropriate for a priest to initiate physical affection in the confessional.

Unfortunately, according to Nadja, Rolph’s boundary violations were not limited to inappropriate hugs. The priest became, as Nadja describes it, “too involved in my personal problems.” She says that after sharing some very difficult past experiences with Rolph, the priest seemed convinced that her difficulties were caused by demonic forces. Rolph was a proponent of “deliverance” ministry and would seek to convince Nadja that she would benefit from spending intense one-on-one time with him to help expel the devil from her life.

Nadja says that when Rolph first offered to conduct a special type of prayer of healing with her, she said no. Her report states that Rolph continued to pester her about it, but Nadja continued to reject Rolph’s offers. She says that after about a year of persistent pressure from Rolph, she finally gave in and complied “out of desperation.”

When she arrived at the church for her initial “deliverance” session with Rolph on the day after Thanksgiving in 2016, Nadja reports that she was surprised to see the parish office closed and no other church staff present. In fact, she recalls, the campus appeared to be completely empty. She writes, “I was uncomfortable, but also desperate and stayed.” In retrospect, Nadja realized that asking a woman to come see a priest alone in an empty building put her in an unnecessarily uncomfortable situation. She writes in her report, “As a vulnerable person, it [was] unfair to put me in a position that could have damaged my reputation in the parish.”

Nadja reports that she shared her “life traumas and sins” during the hour-long session with Rolph. She says that, after this emotional first session, Rolph said that he felt sad to see Nadja in such distress. Rolph suggested that the two of them watch a funny YouTube video to lighten the mood. Nadja recalls that Rolph said to her, in what she assumed at the time was a joke, “Don’t tell [your husband].” She later came to realize that a priest encouraging her to keep secrets from her spouse, even in jest, was a violation of boundaries and disrespectful to her marriage.

After the first session concluded, Rolph gave Nadja a copy of the book Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance by Neal Lozano. This first meeting with Rolph was supposedly based on the Unbound program’s guidance for “intake” sessions. (Nadja later learned that Rolph meeting with her alone without supervision was a violation of the program’s intake guidelines.)

Nadja continued to meet with Rolph one-on-one and submit to his spiritual instructions. During these sessions, Nadja shared intimate details about her past, including very sensitive discussions of sexuality. She was pressured to be emotionally vulnerable with a priest who is not a licensed professional counselor and has no formal training in mental health care.

During confession, Nadja says Rolph told her that God had a word for her: “Control.” The priest told her that her need for “control” was preventing God’s healing. Nadja says she was told that she’d had to give up control of her life in order to let God in. In addition to surrendering “control,” Nadja says she was also instructed by Rolph to pray the Unbound "Five Keys” every morning and night to help keep demonic forces away.

Nadja was slowly being groomed into believing that she was under constant attack by the devil and demons. She was becoming convinced that her only escape was to submit herself completely to Rolph’s authority. A woman who desperately needed the guidance of a competent mental health counselor was, instead, being manipulated into believing that she was living in a nightmare world of spiritual warfare. Far from helping, Rolph’s demon-obsessed pseudo-counseling was making Nadja’s life worse.

By the time Nadja met Fr. John Byers and Nancy Greathouse, two leaders in the local Diocese of Lansing Charismatic Renewal circles, she had already been groomed by Rolph to believe that she was under the influence of the demonic. This made her highly susceptible to unquestionably obeying orders, even strange ones, from individuals whom she accepted as spiritual warfare authorities.

After Nadja disclosed to Rolph that her then five year-old autistic son was experiencing intense difficulties, Rolph referred her to Fr. Byers and Greathouse. Nadja says that the two spiritual advisors suggested that her son may be demonically oppressed due to Nadja’s past sins. Byers and Greathouse reportedly instructed Nadja to burn all the clothing and other items associated with her “sinful” past in order to protect her family from demonic influence. Simply donating or throwing away the items, she was warned, would put others at risk of the demonic influence attached to the items. A desperate Nadja did as she was told.

Burning her clothing, shoes, jewelry and other personal items, however, did not help Nadja improve. She was continuing to mentally unravel under the influence of an incompetent, overbearing priest and the other spiritual leaders that Rolph instructed her to consult. Nadja blamed herself for her lack of progress, which only made her feel more dependent on Rolph.

“I began to believe that I needed continued deliverance prayer from Fr. Jim Rolph to save my son and myself due to our inconsistent improvement,” Nadja writes in an affidavit about the situation.

In spring of 2017, the Diocese of Lansing assigned Rolph to Powers Catholic High School. Before Rolph left the parish, Nadja says she admitted to Rolph during Confession that the type of spirituality she was currently practicing under Rolph’s direction felt unfaithful to her marriage.

Rolph reportedly became upset by Nadja’s desire to pull away from him. “He tells me that I am wrong and that those thoughts are coming from the devil,” Nadja recalls. “He appeared agitated as he said this.” Instead of respecting a married woman parishioner’s wish to set personal boundaries with a priest out of respect for her husband, Rolph allegedly became indignant and doubled down on his obsession to be Nadja’s spiritual savior.

“It is difficult to explain how much (in the long run) that harmed me,” Nadja writes in her January 2020 abuse report to the Diocese of Lansing’s Bishop Earl Boyea. “It wasn’t ok. I was exploited, and that is abuse.”

After this incident in the confessional, Nadja, determined to protect her boundaries, was able to avoid contact with Rolph for a little over a year. She also began to see a secular trauma therapist, who affirmed to her that Rolph’s behavior was inappropriate and that she should maintain firm boundaries with the priest.

In August 2018, Nadja accidentally ran into Rolph in the confessional at St. Matthew’s in Flint. Rolph was visiting the parish and filling in for another priest. During Confession, Rolph reportedly asked Nadja, once again, if she would like him to conduct “healing” prayer with her after Mass. Nadja recalls that she said yes to Rolph because she was planning to ask Rolph for the contact information for another priest and didn’t want to risk Rolph refusing to help because she declined his prayers. Nadja writes, “I had no recourse for myself and needed someone to help me make contact with [the other priest]. I agreed to healing prayer.”

Despite the fact that Nadja had clearly, a year prior, told Rolph that she was uncomfortable with his style of spiritual counseling, the eager priest violated her personal boundaries and pressured her to succumb to his wishes once again. Nadja says that Rolph conducted his “healing” prayer upon her after Mass in the confessional of the empty church. Nadja recalls that she felt “robotic” and “programed” in the presence of Rolph at this point in her life.

Even though Nadja had told Rolph in the past that she felt that this intense style of spirituality was violating her marriage, that didn’t stop the priest from pushing her to be in a physically and emotionally vulnerable position with him alone in a confessional.

Nadja’s reports depict Rolph as a man who is simply not able to control himself and has no problem violating a woman’s personal boundaries when he has his mind set on “healing” her.

Official complaint to the Diocese of Lansing

Nadja finally reported her concerns about Rolph to the Diocese of Lansing in January 2020 in a letter addressed directly to Bishop Earl Boyea. She decided she could no longer stay silent after learning that the priest was tasked with chaperoning high school students for an overnight trip to the March For Life.

In addition to urging the diocese to take action against Rolph, Nadja also requested that the diocese reimburse her for mental health counseling that she sought to help her heal from the trauma of Rolph’s demon-addled pseudo-therapy.

After reviewing Nadja’s complaint, the Diocese of Lansing’s Victim Assistance Coordinator at the time, Cheryl Williams-Hecksel, shared with Nadja in an email that “[Fr. Jim] has been informed of the importance of maintaining his distance from your family so as to not cause any additional discomfort.” Williams-Hecksel also said that Rolph would “receive additional human and pastoral formation regarding boundaries.”

Despite agreeing to pay for Nadja’s therapy and promising to correct Rolph’s behavior, the Diocese of Lansing refuted Nadja’s claim that the priest’s actions rose to the level of “abuse” and allowed Rolph to remain in active ministry.

Nadja first publicly posted about her allegations against Rolph on X, formerly known as Twitter, in January 2022. She tweeted, “Beginning in late 2016 until his transfer I was spiritually and psychologically abused by Fr. Jim Rolph. Added to that were boundary violations as well the violation of multiple conduct policies in the Diocese of Lansing.”

Nadja describes the horrific effect Rolph’s behavior inflicted upon her. “What he did ruined my life. It stole my ability to be a part of my faith community. It made my PTSD significantly worse by destroying the one safe space I had left. It has caused my children to suffer and damaged my marriage. I have never received an apology.”

Despite Nadja’s vulnerability and outspokenness about her reported traumatic experiences with Rolph and the Diocese of Lansing, her low-profile social media presence failed to gain attention. It took nearly four years after Nadja’s report to the diocese for church officials to finally encourage Rolph to step away from ministry, and it seems that this leave of absence was provoked not by Nadja’s allegations but a culmination of additional problematic behaviors on the part of Rolph.

In a tweet in response to Rolph’s Nov. 4 letter to Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Nadja asks, “Why did they let him write this & continue grooming his parish? How many times can you destroy people and stay a priest?”

Nadja’s questions bring light to problems that arise when a diocese fails to publicly announce a priest’s leave of absence. Leaving the local Catholic faithful in the dark about why their priest is suddenly missing allows rumors and scandal to fester.

The Diocese of Lansing seems willing to announce such ousters in some cases, as they recently did by announcing the removal of Fr. Gerald Ploof. However, as of this writing, the diocese has not released a statement clarifying the reasons for Fr. Jim Rolph’s exit from ministry. This omission has allowed Rolph to publicly spin his removal from ministry as an “opportunity” for counseling and spiritual insight instead of what it truly is; the Diocese of Lansing’s attempt to quietly “fix” a man who Nadja believes does not belong in the priesthood.

Rolph’s recent leave of absence brings up many disturbing questions. What is he accused of this time? How many other complaints have been made against this priest? How many chances will this admitted chronic “boundary” violating priest be given?

The Diocese of Lansing’s Director of Communications, David Kerr, emailed me the following statement on Dec. 4:

For the sake of accuracy and fairness, it is worth stating from the outset that the Diocese of Lansing has never received any allegation of sexual misconduct against Father Jim Rolph, not now nor at any point during his nine years as a priest.

It is also worth noting that the recently published article regarding Father Rolph, authored by advocate-journalist, Dan Sealana, contains new allegations and new details that were not presented to the diocese by the complainant in their official complaint of three years ago.

While the Diocese of Lansing cannot instantly assess the veracity of these new claims, the Diocese does note that Father Rolph denies many of these allegations and disputes many of these details as well as the malign motivation imputed to him.  

Below, therefore, are the known facts which the Diocese of Lansing is able to confirm at present:

In January 2020, the Diocese of Lansing received a complaint from an adult woman alleging the exercise of improper boundaries by Father Jim Rolph during healing ministry meetings from 2014 to 2018. 

The Diocese promptly referred this matter to its Code of Conduct Advisory Council. This Advisory Council includes seven lay professionals from various relevant disciplines. It exists to aid the Bishop of Lansing in assessing all allegations of clerical misconduct. 

The Diocese concluded upon intake, and on its face, that the allegation as presented did not constitute potential grave misconduct. The Advisory Council subsequently agreed with this initial assessment.

The Advisory Council then reviewed the complaint in more depth and, acknowledging that different people have different personal boundaries regarding physical contact, concluded that no abuse had occurred, whether spiritual or otherwise. The Council did advise that Father Rolph receive some additional training in respecting people's boundaries, which he duly fulfilled.

In October 2023, a concern was raised with the Diocese by a member of the lay faithful in Lansing that Father Rolph was failing to maintain healthy boundaries. Note: the concern did not involve any allegation of abuse or sexual misconduct. 

In response, the Bishop of Lansing requested that Father Rolph take a short leave of absence from his parish duties in order to receive an evaluation at a behavior health center. Father Rolph agreed. 

Upon departing, Father Rolph made a statement to his parish regarding his absence. The content of the statement was reviewed by the diocese prior to publication.

After a two-week evaluation was completed, Father Rolph further explained his situation in an open letter to the priests, deacons and staff of the Diocese of Lansing, November 3. Again, the content of the communication was reviewed by the diocese prior to publication. In it, Father Rolph wrote:

“It's been shown to me recently that I'm having trouble establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries. If I don't learn how to say ‘no’ I will not be able to maintain healthy ministry. I've spent the last two weeks going through an evaluation process that is meant to help determine how best to help me be the holy, healthy, happy priest God made me to be.”  

“After going through this process, I was invited to take two months off in order to seek deeper mental, emotional, and spiritual healing and growth. The bishop has asked me to do this and I agreed.”

“To share vulnerably: this is incredibly humbling and frustrating for me, but I want to cooperate with anything that's going to help me be the best priest, pastor, and brother that I can be.” 

Given this matter does not relate to an allegation of abuse nor any disciplinary procedures, it did not merit a diocesan-wide public communication. Nor did the allegation received in 2020, or the Advisory Council's findings, warrant any public statement as there was no finding of abuse or grave misconduct.

Father Jim Rolph remains a priest in good standing. He is not suspended from ministry. His faculties remain intact. It is the firm hope and expectation of the Diocese of Lansing that, in due time, he will return to the diocese and continue to faithfully serve the good people of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Lansing. 

Author’s note: I attempted to reach Fr. Jim Rolph by email on Nov. 30 to offer him a chance to respond to this article. I received an “out of the office” automated reply from Fr. Jim stating that he is not able to reply to emails. I also emailed two staff members at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish and asked them to forward my inquiry to Fr. Rolph. I have not received a response. Any response that I may receive from Rolph in the future will be added to this article. I also wish to publicly extend an open invitation to Fr. Jim to be a guest on my podcast and respond directly to any allegations mentioned in this article.