(LifeSiteNews) — Two whistleblowers in the Archdiocese of Detroit are calling for an independent, transparent investigation into pornographic material previously found on multiple parish-owned computers and its alleged cover-up under the previous bishop.
In their March 31 open letter to Archbishop Edward Weisenburger, a follow-up to an unanswered private letter, Justin and Melissa Enfield noted that back in 2019 Justin had reported the discovery of sexually explicit material on computers owned by St. Joseph Parish in South Lyon, Michigan, which included stored credentials for “hookup” websites. Justin had been serving as a youth minister and web coordinator at the time.
Despite reporting the immoral material to the parish as required, the whistleblowers claim that both St. Joseph parish and the archdiocese under Archbishop Allen Vigneron failed to adequately investigate the matter or hold anyone responsible, and even deleted key files and wiped the computers clean.
The Archdiocese of Detroit did not respond to LifeSiteNews’ request for comment by publication time.
The Enfields, citing Weisenburger’s March 11 statement on rebuilding trust within the archdiocese, especially regarding clerical abuse, called on the archbishop to review the previous investigation because the internal process had failed, and to heed his own calls for transparency and accountability.
“In that message, you spoke about transparency, accountability, and the need to respond to serious concerns with integrity. We took those words seriously. That is why we contacted you directly and asked for an independent, external review of our case,” the whistleblowers wrote.
READ: Disturbing new study shows connection between pornography, child sexual abuse
“We reached out privately first because we believed it was appropriate to give the Archdiocese an opportunity to respond to these concerns directly and in good faith. We are now making this public because, to date, we have been directed back into the same internal processes that previously failed us,” they added.
Noting that Justin had immediately reported the explicit material to proper channels within the parish, the Enfields stressed that the parish failed to investigate or offer any accountability.
“The response was not to investigate. Instead, we were met with inaction, minimization, and statements that suggested concern about institutional liability rather than safeguarding or accountability,” they wrote.
The Enfields recalled how, frustrated with the parish’s response, they filed a complaint with the archdiocese’s EthicsPoint system in 2020 and continued to cooperate by providing documentation and identifying witnesses. However, despite the archbishop’s delegate for clergy misconduct, Msgr. Michael Bugarin, confirming receipt of their complaint and promising to follow up, they emphasized that no effort was made to collect evidence for over a year.
They even allege that the archdiocese’s human resources (HR) department responded by advising them to delete potential evidence, and later found that all the parish computers’ contents had been scrubbed.
“We were advised by Archdiocesan HR to delete potentially evidentiary material from parish computers- guidance that directly conflicted with any reasonable expectation of evidence preservation,” the Enfields wrote.
“We witnessed no timely collection of evidence; in fact, while Monsignor Bugarin spoke to Justin directly, confirming receipt of the complaint and promising follow-up, there was no motion made to collect the evidence for more than a year following our report,” they added. “When the computers in question were later accessed, their contents had been wiped- and not by us.”
The whistleblowers noted that Justin’s access to his archdiocesan email and files was revoked as he was trying to provide a detailed account of the incident. They further stressed that the only resolution offered to them was a private meeting, without any witnesses or any kind of representation. This prompted them to request that Archbishop Vigneron intervene, which was ignored.
“We requested the Bishop’s direct involvement, on the understanding that our complaints concerned more than simple personnel or managerial conflicts, but matters that if substantiated would require discernment of whether the priests involved were fit to be in ministry,” they wrote. “Those requests were ignored, even when it was included in official paperwork required by the Archdiocese of Detroit.”
The Enfields continued:
Years later, we were informed- indirectly- that the matter had been “taken seriously” but did not result in disciplinary action due to insufficient evidence. We do not believe that conclusion can be considered reliable.
Not because we expect anyone to simply accept our claims- but because the process itself failed at every critical point where truth is established:
-
Evidence was not preserved
-
Evidence was not collected in a timely manner
-
Witnesses were excluded
-
Documentation access was removed
-
Findings were not disclosed
Both Archbishop Vigneron and Msgr. Bugarin have previously been accused of covering up allegations that a homosexual archdiocesan employee had sexually harassed and “groomed” a young man while removing Father Michael Shy from his parish, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, for reporting these allegations.
Finally, the Enfields emphasized that they remain completely willing to cooperate with any investigation and called on Weisenburger to initiate an independent, external review of the case that not only gives full consideration to available evidence and witness testimony, but also complete transparency on that review’s findings.
“We did what we were supposed to do. We followed the system. And the system failed,” they concluded.
Archbishop Weisenburger, like his predecessor, has been accused of covering up clerical abuse for decades while serving as the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, allegedly ordering the mass deletion of emails and records pertaining to abuse allegations and even enabling a defamation lawsuit against an abuse survivor.
READ: Detroit’s Archbishop Weisenburger covered up clerical sex abuse for decades: report
Weisenburger’s first year as archbishop of Detroit has also been marked by several controversies. Within weeks of being installed as archbishop, Weisenburger enacted a sweeping prohibition of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in parish churches – allowing it only in select non‑parochial settings. The archbishop also dismissed three senior orthodox professors from Sacred Heart Seminary, Dr. Ralph Martin, Dr. Eduardo Echeverria, and Dr. Edward Peters.
To read the Enfields’ full open letter to Archbishop Weisenburger, click here.
