A Louisiana parish drew sharp criticism this week after including a convicted sex offender in its public prayer intentions while making no mention of his victims. St Anthony of Padua in Luling published a bulletin listing Anthony Odiong among those to be prayed for at Sunday mass, just days after he was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting congregants in Texas.
Odiong, who served as pastor at the church before his conviction, was found guilty on Friday of first- and second-degree sexual assault. A Waco jury determined he had exploited his spiritual authority as a priest to pursue a years-long physical relationship with one woman and to coerce another into a sex act. The panel sentenced him to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 30 years and imposed $30,000 in fines.
The bulletin's inclusion of Odiong sparked an immediate backlash from survivors and advocates. One of the two women whose assault convictions led to his sentencing, identified in court records as Mary Doe, issued a statement Tuesday urging the parish to also pray for victims. She called any mass intention for Odiong "a grievous scandal" unless paired with prayers for healing for his victims and their communities.
The other woman, known as Jane Doe in court proceedings, said her response was "sadness, not anger" at the parish's approach. She noted that many people had yet to fully reckon with how Odiong "used the love and trust of communities" through his position as clergy.
Kristi Schubert, an attorney representing a third woman who publicly accused Odiong, said she was "profoundly disappointed" the bulletin contained no corresponding prayer for survivors of clergy abuse. "Unfortunately, I'm not even surprised because abusive priests, even those who have been convicted of sexual abuse, are regularly given a level of public support that the victims can only dream of receiving," Schubert said.
The parish removed the bulletin from its website after inquiries from The Guardian. An archdiocesan spokesperson for the New Orleans archdiocese, to which St Anthony belongs, explained that a parishioner had requested Odiong's inclusion based on the Catholic principle of praying for those who have "turned away from God." The statement added that the new archbishop, James Checchio, who took office in February, has instructed the pastor to ensure victims are included in prayers going forward.
Yet the oversight revealed a broader pattern, according to advocates. Letitia Peyton, executive director of TentMakers, a nonprofit supporting clergy abuse survivors, said the church's silent treatment of victims sent a damaging message. "A parish that can publicly intercede for an adjudicated abuser but cannot bring itself to name or pray for his victims sends a clear message, whether it intends or not: that the comfort of the community and the reputation of the church matter more than the cries of the wounded," Peyton said.
Peyton, whose own son was molested by a priest when serving as an altar boy, said a church faithful to its mission "must be a place where the tears of victims are seen and heard first, not overshadowed by misplaced sympathy for those who caused harm."
Court testimony revealed that multiple women at St Anthony had reported similar experiences with Odiong, including two church members identified as Lisa Smith and Presley Jones. Jones had a child with Odiong in spring 2023. Earlier reporting by The Guardian in February 2024 detailed accusations from a group of women who said Odiong had used his ministerial role to coerce them into unwanted sexual contact and exert abusive financial control.
The parish had already removed Odiong's name from a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary that he had helped build. That removal was connected to a $305 million settlement the New Orleans archdiocese agreed to pay clergy abuse survivors through a bankruptcy proceeding. Yet his name remained in the mass intentions bulletin, where no prayers were listed for any of his victims, nor for survivors of clergy abuse generally.
Schubert emphasized the signal such omissions send to potential future victims. "Intentional or not, it sends a message to survivors of abuse who may be considering coming forward. It says, 'If you come forward, your abuser will be supported, and you will be forgotten.'"
Author James Rodriguez: "The church's silence on behalf of victims while publicly praying for a convicted predator is a choice, not an accident, and it speaks volumes about where institutional loyalty still lies."
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