LOUISIANA
Louisiana Law Review
Oct. 22, 2014
By Julie Love Taylor, Senior Associate
By now, most Americans are familiar with the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal, in which the Church has been criticized for its handling—or rather, mishandling—of priests who sexually abused minors.[1] Recently, Catholics in Louisiana were reminded of this scandal but with a slightly different twist. In April 2014, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued a decision involving alleged sexual abuse—not by a priest, but by a church parishioner—and a priest’s failure to report that abuse.[2] The Supreme Court’s holding potentially opened the door to a sticky situation: Can a court compel a priest to break the seal of confession when the penitent is a minor alleging sexual abuse.
I. The Supreme Court Case: Parents of Minor Child v. Charlet
In 2008, 14-year-old Rebecca Mayeux reached out to Fr. Jeff Bayhi, a priest in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, through the Sacrament of Confession. According to the petition, Mayeux revealed to him that George J. Charlet, Jr., a 64-year-old fellow parishioner, sexually abused her.[3] Charlet, a well-known and active parishioner of Our Lady of Assumption in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, allegedly sent Rebecca emails “laced with seductive nuances” and ultimately kissed and fondled her.[4]
Rebecca met with Fr. Bayhi on three separate occasions, confiding in him that Charlet “inappropriately touched her, kissed her, and told her that ‘he wanted to make love to her.’”[5] Fr. Bayhi allegedly told Rebecca that the situation was “her problem” and to “[s]weep it under the floor and get rid of it.”[6] Subsequent to Fr. Bayhi’s dismissal of Rebecca’s pleas, the abuse allegedly continued.[7]
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