In Lafayette LA a Permanent Deacon was excommunicated for confronting his child's abuser; a Catholic Priest. Appeals pending.

 

Excommunicated Catholic deacon still waiting on overdue appeal outcome after his son was molested by priest

Scott Peyton left the Lafayette, Louisiana, diocese after priest admitted to abusing his son and was excommunicated months later

A 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.

Nonetheless, the letter continued, Peyton “wishes that I convey to you that, from his perspective, the unduly long span of time with no communication from your office only compounds the injustices that he and his family have suffered from the church”.

He broke the story of the US Catholic clergy abuse scandal. Now he reflects on struggling to keep his faith

Read more

Word of Peyton’s plight earned international news headlines in March 2024, with many outlets characterizing his excommunication as a remarkably harsh consequence that his child’s molester does not appear to have ever faced because the church, in sum, does not consider the abuser’s offense on its own excommunicable.

Peyton was ordained into Louisiana’s diocese of Lafayette – about 135 miles (217km) west of New Orleans – as a deacon in 2012. Deacons are largely similar to priests, though they can join the clergy despite being married.

About six years after his ordination, a priest with whom Peyton ministered at St Peter’s church in Morrow, Louisiana, confessed to molesting the deacon’s teenage son, Oliver, and was arrested by authorities.

Michael Guidry, now 83, later pleaded guilty to abusing Oliver Peyton, who was an altar server. He received a seven-year prison sentence after his church feted him with a farewell lunch for which the diocese was forced to apologize.

In 2021, Peyton said he, his wife, Letitia, and Oliver secured a $350,000 settlement from Lafayette’s diocese to settle a civil lawsuit without a trial. The Peytons in the meantime have become advocates for clergy abuse survivors. And in December 2023, Scott Peyton decided he was no longer a good fit to serve as a deacon in the diocese, quit and went on to join an Anglican church’s congregation.

Lafayette bishop J Douglas Deshotel responded to those developments by issuing a 13 March 2024 decree informing Peyton he had been excommunicated, effective immediately, basically because the deacon had severed ties with the Catholic church.

“I am aware that your family has suffered a trauma, but the answer does not lie in leaving the Most Holy Eucharist,” Deshotel wrote, adding that “we are not Catholics because the church … is perfect”.

For pious Catholics, excommunication is as severe a punishment as there is, preventing recipients of it from engaging in certain sacraments as a way to essentially shock them into rethinking their sinful behavior before death condemns them to damnation. Among the most famous Catholic excommunicates are Henry VIII (over a divorce and remarriage), Napoleon Bonaparte (for annexing the Papal States within Italy to France) and Martin Luther (for igniting the Reformation).

Peyton formally appealed against his excommunication to the DDF in May 2024, arguing in part that “there was no pastoral good to be accomplished” by his censure. He also contended that his wife and six children feel unwelcome in the Catholic church because of his excommunication, meaning the punishment had “harmed the spiritual lives of eight Catholics”.

That appeal ostensibly initiated an adjudication process that generally should be completed in three months.

Deshotel wrote to Peyton in October 2024 – five months later – notifying him that his appeal “material … has been received and is currently being evaluated” by the DDF. The bishop said he sent that letter at the behest of the DDF’s secretary, Archbishop John Joseph Kennedy.

It had been well over a year since that missive when Goldstein herself wrote to Kennedy in early February asking for at least an update concerning the status of her client’s appeal. She argued that the “harm” raised in Peyton’s appeal “continues every day that [it] goes unanswered”.

Goldstein also wrote to Kennedy asking him to inform Oliver Peyton of Guidry’s “current canonical status and any penalties that may have been imposed upon him” after the latter’s guilty plea.

Neither inquiry had received a reply as of Saturday.

Furthermore, neither a Lafayette diocese spokesperson nor Guidry’s criminal defense attorney immediately responded when sent a message asking whether he had been laicized, or removed from the priesthood.

Many Catholic clergymen convicted of child molestation over the years have been allowed to remain in the priesthood. Some abusers who have left the priesthood have done so voluntarily.

The late Francis was the pope when Peyton first filed his excommunication appeal. The pope now is Leo XIV, who was elected to succeed Francis in May 2025 and became history’s first US-born pontiff.

Another abusive Lafayette diocese priest named Gilbert Gauthe all but brought the worldwide, decades-old Catholic clergy abuse crisis to the US’s collective conscience by pleading guilty in 1985 to molesting several boys he met through his ministry.

More recently, Lafayette’s diocese unsuccessfully asked Louisiana’s supreme court to strike down a state law passed in 2021 which eliminated filing deadlines for lawsuits seeking damages over child molestation that occurred long ago.

Meanwhile, on 5 March, a Lafayette diocese priest named Korey LaVergne was formally charged with three counts of felony indecent behavior with a juvenile in connection with allegations that he inappropriately touched a child.

From the Diocese of Lafayette LA and the WW2 Musuem in New Orleans, Father Joseph Lafleur, Chaplain to WW2 POW's

 

Father Lafleur: Forgotten story of chaplain to POWs in WWII and his ‘incredible selflessness’

written by Jack Figge 

Father Joseph Verbis Lafleur, a World War II chaplain who gave his life while saving others on a Japanese prison ship, is seen in this undated photo. He died Sept. 7, 1944, when a U.S. submarine torpedoed the Japanese ship that he and over 700 fellow prisoners of war were aboard in the Indian Ocean. A priest of the Diocese of Lafayette, La., he is a candidate for sainthood and has the title "Servant of God." (OSV News photo/courtesy Diocese of Lafayette)

(OSV News) — There was nothing elegant about St. Peter’s in Chains, the small chapel where Servant of God Father Joseph Verbis Lafleur celebrated Christmas Eve Mass on Dec. 24, 1942.

It was a simple wooden hut, built in the middle of a Japanese prisoner of war camp, where Father Lafleur was being held prisoner.

Father Lafleur, ordained for the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, on April 2, 1938, had enlisted as a military chaplain in early 1941 and was assigned to serve the U.S. Air Corps 19th Bombardment Group, stationed in the Philippines.

Two years later, he was captured by the Japanese during the early days of America’s involvement in World War II and was sent to a prisoner of war camp.

Eventually, Father Lafleur died when a U.S. submarine sank an unmarked Japanese prisoner of war transport, the SS Shinyo Maru, which was carrying U.S. prisoners of war to the mainland, killing all but 60 of the prisoners.

Recently, Michael Bell, executive director of the of the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, began researching Father Lafleur’s life and service and presented his findings during a special reception on July 31.

“Father LaFleur is part of this unique experience of World War II, being stationed in the Philippines at the beginning of the war and then being sent to a prisoner of war camp and dying on a transport ship,” Bell told OSV News. “He also went to seminary here in New Orleans so he is this hometown hero. I pass that seminary, going to Mass on Sunday.”

On Dec. 8, 1941, sirens blared across Clark Field in the Philippines, a U.S. military base. Simultaneously, on what was Dec. 7 due to the international date line, a Japanese aircraft carrier group had launched an air assault on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, marking the beginning of the United States’ involvement in World War II.

Father Lafleur, the base’s chaplain watched as Japanese planes dropped bombs and strafed the U.S. airfield. Seeing wounded soldiers, the chaplain jumped into action.

“Without regard for his personal safety, Father Lafleur is going from wounded soldier to soldier, providing comfort or helping evacuate him to safety and he really becomes an inspiration, not just for those he helped, but even for the leaders of that unit,” Bell said. “It starts to show this incredible selflessness when, you know, by all accounts, everybody else is taking cover and he is out there helping people.”

Father Lafleur’s example of selflessness continued when, after the attack, he was given the opportunity to evacuate to Australia. The chaplain, however, vowed to stay with his men, telling commanders that he will not leave until everybody else has been evacuated.

Thus, Father Lafleur retreated with the remaining soldiers to the Bataan Peninsula where they attempted to ward off the invading Japanese forces. However, their efforts stalled and on May 7th, 1942, Lafleur and the 19th bombardment group surrendered to the Japanese.

Yet the tale of Father Lafleur’s heroism had only just begun.

Father LaFleur was sent to Davao Penal Colony, a Japanese prisoner of war camp in the Philippines where he endured harsh living conditions and violent prison guards.

“The conditions get worse and worse over time,” Bell said. “Whatever food they had begins to dwindle and by mid-summer 1942, the Japanese become very violent. If American or Filipino prisoners escape or try to escape, they will do retribution against the other prisoners by punishing them or even executing some.”

Yet, Father Lafleur attempted to keep spirits high by providing the sacraments and being a listening ear to his fellow prisoners. Shortly after his arrival to Davao, Father Lafleur and other prisoners begin constructing a small wooden hut to serve as a chapel which they dub “St. Peter in Chains.”

There, they celebrated 1942 Christmas Eve Mass.

“One of the accounts suggests that as Father Lafleur is celebrating Mass, a couple of the other prisoners were so inspired that they pulled out an American flag they had been hiding and unfurled the flag and held it up, during this midnight Mass,” Bell said. “It becomes this huge inspiration for all of these prisoners to persevere.”

Shortly thereafter, the Japanese began selecting prisoners to be sent to Lasang, a nearby work camp. Lafleur, still recovering from a severe bout of malaria, volunteered to go, believing that to be where God was calling him to serve.

There, he remained until August of 1944.

With American forces rapidly closing in, the Japanese began sending American prisoners of war to camps on other Japanese controlled islands via “hell ships.”

Father Lafleur and 750 other Americans were loaded onto one of these hell ships, the SS Shinyo Maru, where they were stuffed into two cramped, below deck compartments with minimal ventilation, no toilets and barely enough room for each prisoner to sit down.

The men turn to Father Lafleur for spiritual guidance and encouragement as they suffer in the sweltering heat and complete darkness.

“One account that was shared with us recalls a soldier, who was suffering, finds Lafleur in the hold and asks, ‘Padre, can you please pray for me? Lafleur listens to him and tells him to say an act of contrition, and then almost simultaneously, the Japanese actually open the hatch,” Bell said. “Before that they are in this incredible heat, and now they have sunlight and a breeze.”

Tragically, on Sept. 7, 1944, a US submarine fired upon the unmarked Japanese vessel.

“When the ship is hit, the Japanese begin shooting at the Americans as they try to come out of the hold and they begin throwing grenades into the hold,” Bell said. “The account states that Father Lafleur is there, constantly trying to help people up and out, without regard to his own survival or safety.”

In the end, he helped 83 men escape but the transport ship snapped in half and sank to the bottom of the Pacific with Father Lafleur still onboard.

For years, Father Lafleur’s story remained largely forgotten, only to be recalled in official US reports, the testimony of his fellow prisoners, and within the Diocese of Lafayette, which opened his cause for canonization Sept. 5, 2020.

After learning about Father Lafleur’s story, Bell knew that he wanted to know the full picture and share it with the world. He believes that Lafleur is an example of selflessness that can be a model for all.

“What is incredible with Father Lafleur’s story is that consistent selflessness,” Bell said. “It is a selflessness beyond being. It is this model of ultimate self-sacrifice that can be an example and model for all.”

Jack Figge writes for OSV News from Kansas.

Louisiana Supreme Court reversal extends "look back law"; will impact child sexual abuse claims

 

Louisiana Supreme Court extends ‘look back law’ to 2027, reversing earlier ruling on constitutional grounds

By

 OSV News

 -

 13 June 2024

A gavel and block are seen in this undated file photo. The state supreme courts in Colorado and Louisiana issued rulings in cases that challenged the constitutionality of removing the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims. (OSV News photo/Andrew Kelly, Reuters)

NEW ORLEANS — In a 5-2 ruling June 12, the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed its earlier decision to scrap a “look back law” for abuse survivors and declared it to be constitutional.

The move could have a profound impact on several Catholic dioceses in the state that are already grappling with significant legal settlements and ongoing investigations.

On May 10, the Louisiana Supreme Court granted a rehearing on a March ruling that had overturned a “look back law” passed in 2021 and amended in 2022, which gave victims of child sexual abuse until June 14 of this year to file civil claims regardless of when the alleged abuse occurred. The Louisiana Legislature June 3 approved a Senate bill to extend the period another three years, until June 14, 2027.

The court’s 4-3 March ruling had found that law was at odds with the state constitution’s due process, prompting dismay from abuse survivors and advocates, and a filing for a rehearing from state attorney general Liz Murrill.

The high court ruled that its original decree declaring the revival provision of the “look back law” to be unconstitutional “is vacated.”

“Given Louisiana’s legitimate interest in protecting its citizens who were sexually abused as minors and in providing them with the ability to seek redress in the courts, and the narrowly tailored nature of the relief provided … it is clear that defendants have failed to satisfy the ‘heavy burden’ of proving the unconstitutionality of the revival provision,” said Chief Justice John Weimer writing for the majority.

The ruling noted the legislation revived, “for a short period of time … a narrow category of tort victims.” The revival provision at issue “has been demonstrated to have a substantial relationship to public safety, morals and welfare,” Weimer wrote.

“The resolution here will not ‘open the floodgates’ of unrestrained legislative action, as every legislative action must comport with due process,” he continued. “This case is strictly limited to its facts, examining whether a singular legislative act, addressing a particular systemic societal problem, hidden from the public, and impacting children and touching on the public safety, morals and welfare, comports with due process.

“Each case must be tested on its own unique circumstances. In virtually every case this court is called on to resolve, each party predicts catastrophe and dire consequences should the opposing party prevail.”

The case argued before the court that resulted in this ruling was against the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, and St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville, Louisiana. The plaintiffs — Douglas Bienvenu and several other complainants — filed suit in 2018 alleging they were sexually abused between 1971 and 1979 by Father Kenneth Morvant while they were altar servers at the parish. According to the plaintiffs, Father Morvant had plied the boys — who then ranged in age from 8 to 14 — with alcohol and gifts during “sleepovers” at the rectory before molesting them.

Father Morvant died in 2003 at age 72, having served at several Diocese of Lafayette parishes over some four decades. He is buried on the grounds of St. Martin de Tours.

What a sad and disturbing story from the Diocese of Lafayette LA

 

Former deacon, whose son was abused by priest, excommunicated by Diocese of Lafayette

Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel

LAFAYETTE, La. (KADN) — Scott Peyton, a former deacon whose son was molested by a priest he served alongside in St. Landry Parish, has been excommunicated by Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel.

Peyton served as a deacon in the diocese until December 2023. That’s when he resigned citing “distressing revelations regarding sexual abuse scandals involving members of the clergy.”

“The magnitude of these revelations has deeply shaken my faith and trust in the institution to which I have dedicated a significant portion of my life,” Peyton wrote in his resignation letter to Bishop Deshotel. “This decision is not a rejection of my faith in God or my commitment to living a life guided by Christian principles. Instead, it reflects a conscientious objection to the way the Church has handled cases of sexual abuse, and a desire to distance myself from an institution that, currently, falls short of the values it professes.”

In 2019, Father Michael Guidry was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to molesting Peyton’s teenage son. Peyton and Guidry served together at St. Peter’s Church in Morrow. The family settled a civil lawsuit against the diocese in 2021. 

Bishop Deshotel wrote to Peyton following his resignation. 

“I was sad to receive your email deciding to leave the Church and cease to exercise your vocation as Deacon,” wrote Bishop Deshotel in an email provided by Peyton to News 15. “I will remember you in my prayers and masses that you be open to the gift of faith in the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ and built on the Apostles. Sacramentally you are a Deacon though you choose not to exercise your ministry.”

But this week, months after he resigned, Peyton received a decree from Bishop Deshotel stating that he had been excommunicated from the church. 

In the letter to Peyton, Bishop Deshotel wrote:

“A bishop never wishes to communicate a censure to anyone. I am aware that your family has suffered a trauma but the answer does not lie in leaving the Most Holy Eucharist: We are not Catholics because the Church on earth is perfect but because the Lord has entrusted us to a mystery greater than ourselves, which He established as the means to our salvation. The censures of the Church are intended to be medicinal, perhaps as much for those who impose them as for those who are subject to them. It is with this objective that I mournfully must declare them.”

Peyton worries his excommunication sends a harmful message to survivors of clergy sex abuse, especially given there is no indication his son’s abuser has been excommunicated. 

“If molesting a child is not grave enough to get excommunicated, but telling the bishop that I don’t agree with how he’s running the diocese and how the church is handling the sex abuse crisis, if that’s a grave sin, then I guess I’ll wear the badge of excommunication as an honor. I think the hypocrisy in this excommunication speaks volumes of the leadership of Bishop Deshotel. I think he should resign his leadership and those that are running this diocese behind the scenes should step down along with him,” explained Peyton. 

News 15 has reached out to the Diocese of Lafayette for comment, we’re waiting to hear back.

Diocese of Lafayette Louisiana proceeds with canonization process for Charlene Richard

 

Louisiana ceremony will promote cause of Little Cajun Saint

Philip Kosloski - published on 01/04/24

Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette will officially close the diocesan phase of the canonization process for Charlene Marie Richard

Known affectionately as “The Little Cajun Saint,” Charlene Marie Richard was a middle school student and athlete who died at the age of 12 in 1959, just two weeks after being diagnosed with acute leukemia.

She embraced her illness bravely, uniting her sufferings with Christ. Shortly before being diagnosed, she had read a book about St. Therese of Lisieux, and asked her grandmother if she, too, could become a saint.

Charlene died on August 11, 1959, and since then many have recognized her holiness at such a young age.

Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel introduced her cause for canonization in 2020 and will close the diocesan phase of the process on January 13, 2024, her birthday.

The Diocese of Lafayette is encouraging everyone in the area to be present at the ceremony, which will be at 10 a.m. at St. Edward Church in Richard, Louisiana:

With our love and prayers, the pages of this investigation will be entrusted that day to the Official Currier, Father Korey LaVergne, Pastor of Charlene’s home parish of St. Edward in Richard, and begins the long journey to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints directly across from Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Your presence on January 13 is a plea to Pope Francis to tell the world what so many of us already believe — that Charlene Richard is a powerful Saint needed by the world in our day and times as a sign of hope that God loves us and helps us through heavenly witnesses (Rev. 8:4).

More information about the ceremony can be found on the diocesan website.

Read more:She died at 12 and is already known as the Little Cajun Saint