Nearly a year-and-a-half after announcing that an investigation had begun into the Rev. Shaun Lowery of St. Mary Magdalen Church in Brighton, who had been placed on ministerial leave for undisclosed reasons, the Diocese of Lansing, in a release Saturday, revealed that Lowery admitted to having sex with a 16-year-old — an encounter arranged by use of the Grindr mobile app — and that Lowery, who resigned his position in April 2022, is seeking to be released from the priesthood.
Lowery had been placed on ministerial leave by St. Mary Magdalen in March 2021 when the Michigan Attorney General began its investigation into him.
According to the release from the Diocese of Lansing, a high school student reported in March 2021 that his friend, a 16-year-old male, had had sex with Lowery. While the student did not report the name of his friend, he did recognize Lowery as a priest.
The Diocese of Lansing said it forwarded the information to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, which announced in May 2021 that it was not filing charges against Lowery as Michigan’s statutory rape law requires the victim to be under 16, and that there was no allegation that the encounter was not consensual.
Lowery admitted to the sexual encounter, and said he presumed the 16-year-old to be an adult. (The Grindr app requests verification on the part of all subscribers that they are over 18.)
When the Michigan Attorney General closed its investigation, the Diocese of Lansing proceeded with its own under church law, which defines a minor as under the age of 18. The case made its way to a diocesan review board that investigates cases of sexual abuse of minors, which found that even though Lowery denied knowing the sexual encounter was with a minor, it was still with a minor under church law.
The case was then referred to the Vatican in Rome, which found that Lowery could not be pursued for violating its rules because the encounter happened after its new rules went into effect in December 2021.
The Diocese of Lansing said it has requested clarification on parts of the ruling and is awaiting a response before determining the next steps in the case.
David Kerr, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Lansing, said that while it awaits clarification, this seemed like the “appropriate moment to provide a fulsome and accurate explanation of events to the people of Saint Mary Magdalen in Brighton, and all other relevant parties.”
You can read the entire release from the Lansing Diocese by clicking here.
Lowery became pastor of St. Mary Magdalen in 2019. He replaced the Rev. David Howell, who had been pastor there for 26 years, from when the parish was established in 1993.
Lowery arrived at St. Mary Magdalen from a position as parochial vicar at St. Francis of Assisi in Ann Arbor.
