Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is requesting $2 million in her budget for state investigations into abuse by Catholic clergy in Michigan as an advocacy group calls upon Catholic officials in Detroit to include more priests on the list of clergy accused of sexual abuse.

The money Whitmer is asking for would be used by the Michigan Attorney General's Office for an investigation launched last year into abuse by Catholic clergy in Michigan.

"The appropriation will be used to hire investigators and victims’ advocates to continue the detailed investigative work necessary to review and pursue the information we have gathered from all seven Michigan dioceses," Kelly Rossman-McKinney, spokesperson for Attorney General Dana Nessel, told the Free Press this week.

The $2 million would designate money that the Attorney General's Office "has already received in settlement monies for the investigation," Rossman-McKinney said.

More:Nessel warns Catholic Church: Let state investigate clergy sexual abuse

More:7 Catholic dioceses in Michigan searched by police in abuse investigation

AG's office has received hundreds of complaints

The Attorney General has received about 400 tips and complaints so far of abuse allegations against Catholic clergy, Rossman-McKinney said.

In February, Nessel said Catholic Church leaders were not fully cooperating with law enforcement on the abuse investigations, claims the Archdiocese of Detroit denied.

In October, the state conducted raids led by former Attorney General Bill Schuette at Catholic dioceses in Michigan that involved 70 police officers and 14 assistant attorney generals. Nessel is continuing the investigations, telling Catholic officials to "stop self-policing" and let law enforcement do their job.

Meanwhile, the advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is asking the Archdiocese of Detroit to include on its list of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse 28 more priests it says are not on it.

The group held a protest last month outside the Archdiocese of Detroit's main office in Detroit demanding the list be updated to include the 28 priests, who appear to be mostly with religious orders such as the Capuchins

"It's self-serving and irresponsible," said David Clohessy, a leader with SNAP who is the group's former national director. "Every day a predator's identity stays hidden, kids are at risk. We don't believe these were mistakes or oversights, but rather deliberate decisions to minimize the extent of the abuse. Most bishops do this, by making excuses and splitting hairs and inventing reasons to keep their lists shorter than they should be."

Catholic Church says it wants credible list

Archdiocese of Detroit spokesman Ned McGrath told the Free Press on Thursday that it welcomes any information of other priests that should be included on the list. McGrath said they have a team working on the list provided by SNAP and will tweak their list if they find more priests who have credible accusations.

"Anybody who comes to us with information that helps us to update our list, we're extremely grateful," McGrath said. "We're working on it diligently. We just want to get it right."

McGrath said the Archdiocese of Detroit started its public list of credibly accused priests in 2002. It was one of the first dioceses in the country to have a public list, he said.

"We've got a team on it," McGrath said. "Anyone who comes up with something and says you're missing something on your web page, we welcome that and we'll make the corrections. The whole purpose is to get it right so it helps people."

In an earlier statement after the SNAP protest, the Archdiocese of Detroit said it "will carefully re-examine each name on our current list as well as the source information provided by the religious orders. If we discover any oversight on our part, it will be corrected immediately."

"The Detroit archdiocese welcomes any assistance and updates from members of the community in our efforts to keep our information updated and accurate."

McGrath said they're checking with religious orders on the information provided by SNAP. Priests who work for religious orders don't often work for the archdiocese and have separate organizational structures.

Clohessy of SNAP said that "every single proven, admitted or credibly accused child-molesting cleric who spent time in the Detroit archdiocese — living or dead, diocesan or religious order, extern or intern — should be listed, including priests, nuns, seminarians, brothers, monks and bishops. That's what protects kids. ... That's what Catholics and citizens need and deserve."

Clohessy said SNAP came up with list doing searches online. He said that if more comprehensive investigations are done, even more could be found. '

"There is no excuse for not making these lists really comprehensive," Clohessy said. "That's how you protect kids and how you help victims heal."

In February, Nessel said people with information on abuse should report it to her office and law enforcement and not Catholic officials. She said that nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) are being used to discourage victims of abuse to speak with law enforcement authorities.

"Our office is conducting a thorough investigation and it's important we be able to talk with any and all victims harmed by these egregious acts without the intervention of the church," Nessel said at a news conference in February.

The Archdiocese of Detroit has said it does not self-police and disputed Nessel's complaints.

McGrath told the Free Press on Thursday that the "the first thing we do when we get a complaint is we give it to law enforcement."

"In addition to going to ... local county prosecutors, we're going to the state Attorney General's Office," McGrath said.

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com, 313-223-4792, Twitter @nwarikoo

To report Catholic clergy abuse

Call the investigation hotline at 844-324-3374 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday) or send information by email to aginvestigations@michigan.gov.

Or click here for a form that the state says allows you to be anonymous in submitting tips.