Former Joliet Bishop Joseph Imesch Dies at Age 84

JOLIET, IL — Retired Diocese of Joliet Bishop Joseph Imesch has passed away at the age of 84, according to the Diocese.

Imesch served with the Diocese from 1979 until his retirement in 2006.

Despite years of service to the church, Imesch’s legacy is now intertwined with Joliet Diocese priests who were accused of sexually abusing young boys. The Diocese settled the case out of court for a total of $4.137 million. Other cases against the Diocese are still pending. Accused priests served at churches in Joliet, New Lenox, Lockport, Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Crest Hill, Glendale Heights, Bolingbrook, Naperville, Itasca, Downers Grove, Kankakee, Hinsdale, Elmhurst, Winfield, Warrenville and Park Forest.

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Imesch was never accused of sexual abuse, but depositions showed he knew about his priests transgressions and failed to act. The Daily Southtown published a series of articles more than 10 years ago detailing then-Bishop Imesch’s efforts to transfer molester priests and ignore or intimidate parents who came forward with complaints.

Tim Placher, a Joliet resident who was sexually abused by the late Rev. Richard Ruffalo, wrote in a Daily Southtown column that Imesch claimed at a deposition he wasn’t sure if any credible accusations had been listed against Ruffalo.

Placher gave a detailed account of how Ruffalo molested him during a trip to Las Vegas.

“I remember feeling utter despair. I was 17 years old, 2,000 miles from home, and a fat, smelly priest had his hand down my pants,” wrote Placher in a March 2006 column. “I didn’t know what to do. I wanted cry. I wanted to haul off and punch the life out of the pervert’s face. But I did nothing.”

In response to Placher’s column, Imesch said he was deeply hurt, according to the Daily Southtown.

”I obviously wish he would have come to me,” Imesch told the paper. “Perhaps he can’t. I do not understand. I am baffled by this and deeply hurt by it.”

When asked for comment by Patch, Placher offered a column he wrote in June 2006 when Imesch retired.

“Until recently, he continued traveling around the diocese performing confirmations, laying his hands on young boys and girls as a symbol of Christ,” Placher wrote in an email to Patch. “He continued to enjoy a place of prominence at diocesan celebrations. USF continues to honor excellent Catholic school teachers with an award bearing his name. But if Imesch thought he came through it all with his good name intact, his reputation rehabilitated, he was wrong. In the nine years since he retired, nothing has happened to change a word of how I felt the day I wrote (the column).”

Read Placher’s June 2006 column

David G. Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said at least 39 Joliet priests were accused of molesting kids, many of whom worked under and were protected by Imesch.

“We hope Imesch’s passing will bring some comfort to the hundreds of girls and boys who were sexually violated during his tenure,“ Clohessy said in a statement.

Clohessy also hopes the passing of Imesch will encourage current and former diocesan staff to speak up about clergy sex crimes and cover ups in Joliet.

“It’s important that all of us share whatever we know or suspect about abuse with law enforcement officials, no matter how old or small or seemingly insignificant our information or suspicions might seem,” Clohessy said.

Bishop Imesch was born June 21, 1931, in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. He went to elementary school at St. Ambrose and Paul schools in Grosse Pointe. He attended Sacred Heart Seminary High School and College in Detroit where he received his bachelor’s degree, according to Imesch’s biography on the Diocese website. He attended the North American College in Rome where he received a licentiate in sacred theology from the Gregorian University. He was ordained Dec. 16, 1956, in Rome.

When Imesch returned to Michigan he was appointed pastor at St. Charles Parish in Detroit from 1957 to 1959. He was secretary to Archbishop of Detroit John Cardinal Dearden from 1959 to 1971. He was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows parish in Farmington, where he served from 1971 to 1977.

Imesch was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit April 3, 1973. In 1977, he was assigned as regional bishop of the Northwest Region. On Aug. 28, 1979, he was installed at the third bishop of the Joliet Diocese. Imesch retired June 27, 2006.

Bishop of Joliet Daniel Conlon said in a statement that Imesch’s years of service were marked by great change and population growth, which he managed well.

“Bishop Imesch led with conviction and compassion and used his many talents generously. As we celebrate the coming of Christ in this season and, at the same time, commend Bishop Imesch to the love and mercy of God, his episcopal motto seems especially appropriate: The Lord Is Near. May he be near the Lord for all eternity,” Conlon said.