Detroit Archbishop Sued for Abuse Cover-Up

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A lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday is claiming Detroit priest Fr. Aloysius Volskis drugged and raped an 8-year-old boy in a Catholic school's teachers' lounge.

The suit claims Abp. Allen Vigneron and the archdiocese "acted with deliberate indifference to reports of Volski's propensity to engage in sexual abuse."

Other defendants named are Bishop Kelley Catholic School in Lapeer, Michigan, where the alleged rape took place, and Immaculate Conception Catholic Parish, also in Lapeer.

The accuser, going under the alias John Doe, says Volskis had a prior allegation of abuse but was reassigned to the school, where he did one-on-one spiritual direction with schoolchildren.

If true, the issue of an 8-year-old receiving spiritual formation immediately raises eyebrows.

The lawsuit describes what happened in October 2010: "That morning, the principal removed Plaintiff from class, escorted him to the teachers' lounge, closed the door and left him alone with Volskis."

Under the guise of treating the boy's cold symptoms, the priest gave him two blue tablets.

In a state of semi-consciousness, the boy recalls hearing the priest moaning and chanting prayers in Latin. 

After the rape, John Doe found "his tie was undone, his shirt was unbuttoned, and his pants were around his ankles; there was blood and wetness in his underwear."

Volskis, a native of Lithuania, first immigrated to Canada, then to Los Angeles and finally to Michigan.

According to the lawsuit, before Volskis ever came to Bishop Kelly Catholic School, the archdiocese of Detroit had transferred him out of Divine Providence Parish in Southfield because "he had been credibly accused of sexual improprieties with a parishioner in Southfield."

The seven-count complaint repeatedly notes officials' negligence.

Complaint: "Despite Defendants' knowledge of Volskis' predilections, they not only continued to employ Volskis, but also permitted him unfettered access to vulnerable young children ... whose parents entrusted them to Defendants' care," the lawsuit notes.

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