Detroit Free Press
31 October 2011
BY ELISHA ANDERSONAND NIRAJ WARIKOO
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
The Rev. Gary Schulte
A priest who has spent almost four decades working in metro Detroit was placed on paid administrative leave as the result of an allegation of sexual misconduct.
Parishioners at St. Sylvester Catholic Church in Warren were told during the weekend that the Rev. Gary Schulte — their pastor of 17 years — is restricted from public ministry by the Archdiocese of Detroit.
The archdiocese received an allegation of sexual misconduct involving a male under the age of 18 from its victim assistance coordinator in September and placed Schulte, 66, on leave Friday, said Ned McGrath, spokesman for the archdiocese.
The archdiocese reported the accusation to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office in September, McGrath said.
The Free Press left messages for Schulte, but was unable to reach him.
McGrath said the archdiocese found the complaint to be sufficient to warrant the restrictions, and its investigation continues.
“We have not made a decision of guilt,” he said.
Gail Schulte, the priest’s sister, said Sunday that she is very close to her brother and doesn’t believe the allegation is true.
“The people that know him, and his friends, they don’t believe it, either,” said Gail Schulte of Rochester Hills.
“He’s a good person, and he would never do something like that.”
Schulte is not allowed to celebrate mass or sacraments or present himself as a priest publicly, and has moved out of the rectory, the archdiocese said Sunday.
Church officials said the allegation dated to the early years of Schulte’s ministry.
He was ordained a priest of the Detroit archdiocese in 1972, according to information posted on the archdiocese’s website, and has worked in Clawson, Beverly Hills, Warren, Royal Oak and Madison Heights.
Church officials did not give any other details about the incident report or the alleged victim.
A critic of the church’s handling of abuse cases said Sunday that the archdiocesan investigation took too long.
During the last decade, the Catholic Church has come under scrutiny as reports surfaced of priests committing sexual abuse of minors, forcing it to make settlements.
The Archdiocese of Detroit has said it is committed to weeding out any bad priests.
“It shouldn’t take a month to determine whether an allegation is credible,” David Clohessy, national director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said from St. Louis.
People with complaints involving sexual abuse can contact the Archdiocese of Detroit victim assistance coordinator at 866-343-8055.