|
Louisiana deacon whose altar boy son was sexually assaulted by his priest is excommunicated after years of being shunned slams Catholic church for 'punishing those that speak out'
Scott Peyton resigned from the diaconate in December 2023 after he learned that the priest he served next to had molested his son. However, he was supposed to, sacramentally, remain a deacon. But he now claims he has been punished for speaking out against abusers in the church after the Lafayette diocese excommunicated him on March 13 - the harshest punishment a Catholic can receive. His son was 16 when he was molested by Father Michael Guidry, now 78, in 2015 - with Guidry giving him alcohol before molesting him while he was drunk. Guidry pleaded guilty to charges of assault and in 2019 was handed a seven-year prison sentence but not before his church honored him with a goodbye luncheon - which it later apologized for. 'I am aware that your family has suffered a trauma, but the answer does not lie in leaving the Most Holy Eucharist,' bishop Douglas Deshotel's letter read, as seen by The Advocate. Peyton said the actions of the bishop appeared to be an overt attempt to silence him after his family became vocal supporters of a law supporting childhood sex abuse survivors who wanted to seek civil damages from the church. The Lafayette diocese had even pushed for Louisiana's supreme court to strike down a law that eliminated filing deadlines for lawsuits demanding damages for childhood sexual abuse from years ago. The law, which was struck down on Friday, saw many new cases coming forward against both the institutions and clerics who had worked for Louisiana's Catholic church. Peyton has described Bishop Deshotel's actions against him as 'very malicious' noting how despite more than 40 priests and deacons being on the organization's list of credibly accused child molesters, none have ever been excommunicated. Peyton was ordained into the diocese of Lafayette as a deacon in 2012. But it was in 2018 his faith was shaken after Guidry, whom he worked with at St Peter's church in Morrow, Louisiana, a tiny rural town in St. Landry's Parish, confessed to molesting Peyton's teenage son. Guidry was arrested by the police and is now serving jail time. Three years later, the Paytons, consisting of Scott, wife Letitia and son, managed to win a $350,000 from the diocese of Lafayette as part of an out of court settlement as part of a civil lawsuit against the church. As part of the settlement, the church issued a three-sentence apology acknowledging the victim's credibility while denouncing Guidry's actions. Yet Guidry has argued Oliver Peyton's son had brought the sexual abuse upon himself. He alleged the teenager had drunk from his own bottle and then guided the priest's hands during a nude massage. Despite being in jail, disgraced priest Guidry, remains an ordained member of the clergy. After their success, the Peytons decided to advocate for other victims who had been abused at the hands of the church. Prior to the law being struck down, it had allowed victims to pursue civil damages in connection with sexual abuse no matter how many years ago assaults had taken place. Scott and Letitia Peyton founded TentMakers - a non-profit organization designed to support survivors of Catholic clergy sex abuse. Yet the law was struck down after lawyers for their own diocese argued that having no time limit or 'look back window' made the law unconstitutional. Peyton then quit after deciding he was no longer a good fit to be serving as a deacon in the diocese. Posted by: Skidmark 2024-03-26 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=695145 |