The plaintiffs are seeking "damages in excess of $20,000," Dux told CNA.
Dux said the plaintiffs based their lawsuit upon a lawsuit Perrone himself had filed in Dec. 2019 against a county investigator, who, he claims, defamed him in the course of the investigation.
He added that "the process being followed by Monsignor Bugarin and the Archbishop which is not transparent to us. They stated initially the reason Fr. Perrone was removed was due to a rape allegation, but have since changed their reason to 'boundary violations.'"
"With Fr. Perrone so close to retirement, and with the duration of the Vatican process, this extensive delay and changing story from the Archdiocese has us concerned there will not be justice," Dux said.
For his part, Perrone told the Detroit Free Press that he believes the matter is ideological.
"This is an attempt to get me out," the priest said.
Perrone counts among his supporters conservative internet figure Michael Voris, who leads the "Church Militant" website.
In a series of videos released by the site in July, Voris can be seen with Grotto parishioners asking questions of Bugarin. Voris told CNA that he is not now a parishioner at the parish; he said that "when I saw this issue developing into a Story that it was apparent I would have the lead on, I spoke with my associate pastor and officially withdrew from parish membership."
In the first video, a parishioner asks what Catholics can do to support Perrone. Voris says, "you can't do anything, that's the point."
After accusing the archdiocese of mishandling the announcement of Perrone's removal, and attempting to engage Bugarin on several points, Voris can be seen walking away from Bugarin in frustration.
In the second video, in response to a remark by Bugarin about the process of investigating cases of clerical misconduct, Voris says that "the process was set up by Theodore McCarrick."
"The process was set up by a homosexual predator cardinal," Voris adds.
Asked whether he believes Perrone is being treated fairly, Bugarin says "yes."
Voris told CNA by email Feb. 19 that he is a supporter of Perrone, both "in general," and "with SPECIFIC regard to this SPECIFIC case because before it became public, we had done our due diligence and heavily suspected something was not 'right' about what we had been told about the 'accusations.'"
"We KNOW what's in the file, because we know the background of the case and have spoken with those 'close' to John Doe. In short - we know the entire story. The File that Vigneron Has desperately tried to keep hidden - even to the point of being potentially charged with contempt of court over Thanksgiving Day weekend - provides the AoDs own documentation that they know they are lying and this whole case is fraudulent," Voris added.
"It is correct for these people to not trust the AoD - whatsoever. For example - seven months later, no case has yet been filed with the CDF at all," Voris said. He told CNA he knows this through "sources in Rome AND AoD."
Voris added that "IF such a case were to be filed, God knows what pack of lies it would contain. So it's not really a question of 'trusting the CDF per se,' but rather, it depends on what they would believe in good faith is presented to them."
The July 7 statement of the Detroit archdiocese does not specify the exact nature of the charge against Perrone, calling it "a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor."
The archdiocese declined to comment on the charges made by the lawsuit. But a statement provided to CNA said that "unlike legal cases in civil or criminal law, Church Law does not have or require degrees of sexual misconduct...thus, 'any sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable person' of 'any nature or degree' must – under Church Law – proceed through this process."
"In this process, the Church respects the privacy and personal safety of all involved – those bringing the complaint forward and the accused priest or deacon. Other than public notification that the priest or deacon is currently restricted in his ministry because allegation(s) deemed neither manifestly false nor frivolous are under review, a (arch)diocese is not permitted to discuss any further details of the case."
"The only process that can resolve a question about an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable person by a priest or deacon in accord with Church Law is a Church Law process, not the civil courts," the archdiocese added.
Perrone is a co-founder of Opus Bono Sacerdotii, a Michigan charity that in 2018 faced charges that it had misused donations. Two of the group's founders were forced out of the group in response to the attorney general's investigation. One was prohibited from ever again operating a non-profit in Michigan.
At the time, Perrone said that he never viewed himself as a director and had no knowledge of Opus Bono's organizational structure; he considered himself a spiritual adviser to the group.
The group was founded to support priests accused of sexual misconduct and other disciplinary problems in the Church.
J.D.Flynn served as Catholic News Agency's editor-in-chief from August 2017 to December 2020.