Statement regarding Fr Ken Kaucheck and his involvement with Gianna House

Father Kenneth Kaucheck was barred from public ministry by the Archdiocese of Detroit in April 2009. At that time, the Archdiocesan Review Board had deemed substantive an allegation of sexual misconduct with a person under the age of 18 involving Fr. Kaucheck, dating back to the early years of his ministry in the Archdiocese.

The Archdiocese raised objections when it first learned Father Kaucheck was serving as development director and ex-officio board member of Gianna House, an Eastpointe-based ministry for pregnant teenagers which opened in 2015. Gianna House is not owned, operated or officially affiliated with the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Father Kaucheck was a co-founder of Gianna House and took on leadership positions there, and did so without the knowledge or approval of the Archdiocese. Still, it has been the position of the Detroit Archdiocese that Father Kaucheck’s service at Gianna House constituted a public ministry and was in violation of the restrictions placed on his ministry. The Archdiocese continues to address this matter in a canonical process overseen by the Congregation for Clergy at the Vatican. Father Kaucheck resigned from his positions at Gianna House on April 17, 2016.