Profile Facts
- Name
- Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser
- Role
- Priest
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Detroit
- Order
- OFM Cap
- Ordained
- 1935
- Status
- Accused
- Died
- 5/13/1989
- Records
- Diocesan and public records
If you were harmed by Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser or another member of the Catholic clergy, you deserve a legal team that understands both the trauma and the law. As clergy sexual abuse lawyers, White Law PLLC has spent years standing with Michigan residents who were harmed by priests, brothers, and deacons.
Below you will find the reported history of Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser, drawn from public records and investigative reporting. If you recognize his name, confidential help is available.
Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Detroit
Michigan’s Catholic Church is organized into seven dioceses: Diocese of Lansing, Diocese of Saginaw, Diocese of Kalamazoo, Diocese of Grand Rapids, Diocese of Marquette, and Diocese of Gaylord, and the Archdiocese of Detroit. When the Michigan Attorney General launched a statewide investigation into clergy abuse in 2018, investigators examined files from every one of them. The public record on Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser comes from the Archdiocese of Detroit, one of the dioceses whose files were reviewed.
Those diocesan reports named dozens of accused clergy and revealed patterns of reassignment and secrecy. Speaking with a Michigan clergy sexual abuse lawyer is the fastest way to learn what the investigation uncovered about Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser, your parish, or your school.
The Allegations Against Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser
Where He Served
Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser was a Capuchin friar (OFM Cap) ordained in 1935, according to published diocesan records. Born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Wisconsin, he taught at the Mt. Calvary minor seminary in Wisconsin early in his career, then worked at parishes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Yonkers, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, New York. He was also assigned to friaries in Hudson, New Hampshire, and Garrison, New York, and later to a chapel in Springfield, Massachusetts. He semi-retired in 1974 to the Milton, Massachusetts novitiate, then to the Abington, Massachusetts friary.
What Was Reported
Published records indicate that Grosser was identified in the June 18, 2013 Report of the Audit and Review of the Files of the Capuchin Province of St. Joseph as a deceased friar with confirmed reports of the sexual abuse of minors. His name appears on that list without additional detail about the claims, except that he moved to the New York Province in 1952.
Grosser died on May 13, 1989. He can no longer be criminally prosecuted, but survivors may still bring civil claims against his estate and the religious order.
Criminal vs. Civil Sexual Abuse Cases
Criminal prosecution punishes the offender; civil litigation compensates the victim. When prosecutors charge a priest like Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser, the goal is conviction and sentencing. When a survivor sues, the goal is accountability and the resources needed to heal.
Because the systems are separate, the outcome of one does not control the other. Survivors in Michigan often have viable civil claims connected to accused clergy such as Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser even where no criminal case was ever brought.
Statute of Limitations on Clergy Sexual Abuse Cases in Michigan
Michigan law sets different clocks for different cases. Civil claims for clergy sexual abuse must generally be filed within ten years or before the survivor turns 28 under §600.5805, while first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges carry no statute of limitations at all, a rule that applies to reports involving Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser as well.
Delayed disclosure is the norm, not the exception, trauma and memory loss keep many survivors from speaking up until well into adulthood. An experienced attorney can determine whether an exception or tolling rule keeps a claim involving Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser alive.
View All Accused Clergy in Michigan
Pursue Justice With Help From White Law PLLC
Accountability does not stop with the individual cleric. Michigan law allows survivors to pursue the abuser’s estate as well as the institutions that employed him, where leaders were aware of the risk, or should have been, yet failed to stop the abuse, concealed it, or skipped basic screening and training of clergy such as Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser.
Damages in a case involving Father Clarence (Rudolph) Grosser can cover medical and therapy costs, pain and suffering, and lasting emotional distress. Contact White Law PLLC at (517) 316-1195.
Profiles summarize published records and allegations. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding.