BATON ROUGE (LA)
Crux
February 3, 2019
By Debbie Shelley and Bonny Van
In a show of openness, transparency and a hope for healing, Bishop Michael G. Duca of Baton Rouge released Jan. 31 the names of all priests, a former bishop of the diocese, and one former seminarian “against whom there are credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors and/or vulnerable adults in the Diocese of Baton Rouge.”
It also includes the names of individuals accused of credible allegations within the territory of the Baton Rouge Diocese before it was created in 1961 that were later reported to the diocese; as well as, those who served the Archdiocese of New Orleans in what is now Baton Rouge diocesan territory.
The bishop on the list is Bishop Joseph Sullivan, who guided the Baton Rouge Diocese from 1974 until his death in 1982. A Catholic high school that once bore his name was changed to St. Michael the Archangel High School in 2005 after an allegation against Sullivan became known.
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