Ten years ago, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette (Louisiana) paid out approximately $26,000,000 to 123 victims of sexual abuse by priests who served there over the span of more than 50 years. (They’re lucky they had insurance for that sort of thing.)

There’s an obvious question to ask: Which priests molested children?

The Daily Advertiser requested the names of the abusive priests from the diocese and the response was stunning:

“Bishop [Michael] Jarrell sees no purpose in such action,” Monsignor Richard Greene, media liaison, wrote in response to The Daily Advertiser’s request for the priests’ names.

No purpose.

Even though some of those priests may still be serving in churches today. We know at least one is. Should parents be worried? Are children safe in their presence?

For the Diocese to keep the names hidden shows a remarkable lack of transparency and an unwillingness to cooperate with the public. What are they trying to hide? Why are they trying to protect these priests?

Unbelievable.

(Image via Shutterstock. Thanks to @Arachne_Justice for the link)



