The Archdiocese of New Orleans has added more clergy members to its list of priests credibly accused of abuse.
The move is part of the Archdiocese of New Orleans $300 million bankruptcy settlement case involving hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse.
Archbishop James Checchio issued a letter stating that the updated list is part of the Archdiocese’s commitment to transparency amid the settlement with sex abuse survivors.
Checchio stressed that no clergymen with a credible claim of abuse remain in ministry in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
Checchio’s letter read in part:
“As was agreed to during the recent bankruptcy, today we are publishing the names of archdiocesan clergy that are accused of child sexual abuse. This update contains the names of clergy, all of whom are deceased, who were accused of sexual abuse, and after the allegations have been reviewed, it has been determined that there is sufficient information to make their accusation public.
“We are also adding a number of clergy who were never formally assigned here, who are included on a list of accused in their home diocese or religious order, and were accused in the bankruptcy of abusing a survivor in the archdiocese. It is our hope that by including them on our local list, it will be a tangible acknowledgement of the suffering endured by survivors.”
The archdiocese also supplied the updated list of accused clergymen. That list can be found here.
You can listen to Archbishop Checchio’s statement regarding the updated list here.
The Archdiocese first issued a list of credibly accused priests in 2019. You can view that list here.
Below is the list of names that were added to the Archdiocese’s Report Regarding Clergy Abuse. All of these men are dead:
- Sebastian Arjonilla
- Henry Bezou
- Patrick Cunningham
- Joseph DeWater
- Earl Gauthreaux
- Paul Hart
- Joseph Luminais
- Benjamin Piovan
- Gerard Poche
- Paul Richard
The following non-Archdiocesan clergy names have been added to the Archdiocese’s Report Regarding Clergy Abuse on the basis that they were accused in the bankruptcy and are currently listed on another diocese’s public list or on a religious order’s public list:
- Joseph Sebastian Angers, O.P.
- Donald Dickerson, S.J.
- Warren Discon, C.M.
- Ronald Fontenot
- Gilbert Gauthe
- Gerard Hayes
- Rodney Howell
- George Landry
- Etienne LeBlanc
- Arthur Maurer, S.S.J.
- Robert Melancon
- Louis Meteye, C.M.
- Thomas Naughton, S.J.
- Austin Park, S.J.
- Joseph Thang Pham
- Sean Rooney, S.D.B.
- Leger Tremblay, J.C.
READ MORE:Archdiocese of New Orleans adds more clergy names to credibly accused of sex abuse list
