MARQUETTE, MI-- A church tribunal could not determine the guilt or innocence of a retired Upper Peninsula priest accused of sexual misconduct in the 1970s.
The Diocese of Marquette received the accusation in early 2018. Father Frank Lenz was put on administrative leave and prohibited from presenting himself as a priest. The allegation was also reported to the Marquette County Prosecutor’s Office.
Following civil review, the case was forwarded to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which authorized the bishop of Marquette to establish a special tribunal to adjudicate the case. Canon lawyers from outside the diocese heard it. The tribunal was unable to establish guilt or innocence to the standard of moral certainty in the case.
Lenz denies the allegation. He has been returned to ministry with strict limitations, which include prohibiting him from ministry in parishes and schools.
