Priest

• Anthony Odiong wird beschuldigt, drei spirituell verletzliche Gemeindemitglieder in Waco sexuell missbraucht zu haben • Es laufen Pläne der römisch-katholischen Erzdiözese New Orleans, den Namen eines Priesters von einer Kapelle zu entfernen, die er außerhalb der Stadt mit aufgebaut hat, während in Texas ein Strafprozess gegen den Geistlichen wegen Vorwürfen des sexuellen Missbrauchs von drei spirituell verletzlichen Gemeindemitgliedern bevorsteht, wie der Guardian erfahren hat. • Berichten zufolge hatte Anthony Odiong 600.000 US-Dollar gesammelt, um die Our Lady of Guadalupe Healing Chapel in Luling, Louisiana, im Jahr 2020 zu bauen und zu eröffnen, während er Pfarrer an einer benachbarten Kirche war – Jahre bevor ihn die Behörden in Texas strafrechtlich anklagten, wo er zuvor ebenfalls tätig gewesen war.

Prosecutors say Anthony Odiong exploited his parishioners’ emotional dependency to engage in sexual conduct with themA Roman Catholic priest with ties to Texas and south-east Louisiana and criminally charged with abusing his position as a clergyman to pursue sex with three spiritually vulnerable female congregants faces being taken to trial on all of those cases at once.The Texas district attorney’s office prosecuting Anthony Odiong filed a motion seeking to consolidate the three cases in late March, ahead of a trial date that the Guardian understands has tentatively been set for 4 May. Prepared by McLennan county first assistant district attorney Ryan Calvert, the motion notes that Texas state law allows “a defendant [to] be prosecuted in a single criminal action” if the crimes alleged “are connected or … are the repeated commission of the same or similar offenses”. Continue reading...

Scott Peyton left the Lafayette, Louisiana, diocese after priest admitted to abusing his son and was excommunicated months laterA Louisiana man who resigned as a Roman Catholic deacon after a priest molested his son and then was excommunicated from the church entirely by his local bishop is asking global church leaders to inform him of the fate of his appeal against the prelate’s decision, something that was supposed to be resolved more than a year earlier.In a letter to the Vatican entity in charge of clerical discipline, a canon – or church – law attorney representing Scott Peyton asserts that his case is “nuanced and requires careful consideration”. “To the extent that the delay reflects such diligence, he is grateful,” said the letter to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), prepared by Dawn Eden Goldstein on 3 February and obtained recently by the Guardian. Continue reading...