BATON ROUGE (LA)
Survivors of Childhood Sex Abuse [Middletown, DE]
March 18, 2025
By Richard Windmann, Ph.D.
In a letter, dated March 13th, 2025, a member of the laity, Brian Almon, wrote to the editor of the Advocate Newspaper in Louisiana. In the letter, he blamed both the Bishops and the Victims for the scandal, and failed to absolve the Laity from any responsibility. I do admit that prior to his letter, I was gentle with the Laity. I would say often that “The Laity was groomed by the Catholic Church before they groomed their child Victims.” I have the luxury of changing my mind, and after my thoughtful consideration, after being presented with the facts, I have. I’ll address Mr. Almon’s arguments, point-by-point:
“A 40 year sex abuse scandal”
In the year 306 AD, in the Roman province of Hispania, bishops and elders of the early Christian church gathered in the city of Elvira (today, modern-day Granada, Spain) to discuss pressing issues of faith and discipline. The church was still emerging from periods of persecution, striving to establish moral order within its ranks. Among the many decrees issued at the synod, one stood out—Canon 71, which forbade priests and bishops from engaging in sexual acts with young boys. This stark ruling suggested an unspoken crisis, a corruption within the clergy that church leaders could no longer ignore. Though framed as a violation of celibacy, the decree hinted at a deeper moral reckoning.
Behind the closed doors of the council chamber, the bishops debated fiercely. Some believed that such sins should result in immediate expulsion from the clergy, while others argued for penance and forgiveness. The ruling they reached was firm: those guilty of such acts would never again be allowed to partake in communion, a punishment meant to permanently sever them from the sacred duties of the church. Yet, there was no mention of civil punishment, no call for the Roman authorities to intervene. The church sought to handle its own affairs, keeping scandal contained within its walls. This decision, though strict, set a precedent for secrecy that would echo through the centuries.
As the synod concluded, its rulings were etched into the foundation of early Christian doctrine, shaping the moral framework of the church. But the decree itself would become a haunting testament to a problem that would never fully vanish. Though it stood as an early acknowledgment of clerical abuse, it also revealed the church’s struggle to address it openly. In time, the Synod of Elvira would be remembered not just for its strict codes on marriage and idolatry but for its silent admission of a darkness that lurked even within those who claimed to serve God.
They have been raping our children for almost two millennia, two thousand years – and probably before that. This didn’t start 40 years ago. And in two thousand years the laity knew and did nothing about it. In fact, the laity freely sacrificed their own children to those monsters. And now they want absolve themselves from any blame, complicity, or responsibility for the environment that they themselves helped to create?
“The Church is not a collection of independent parishes; it is a hierarchical system where every priest, bishop, and layperson operates under its authority. Abuse happened in churches, schools, and confessionals—places where Catholics worshipped, donated, and trusted Church leaders to protect them. That trust was betrayed.” – Alex Peyton, Advocate
No quarter…
“The Statue(sic) of Limitations has been changed.”
Damn right it has. And let’s be absolutely clear; we changed it. Not the Church. Not the courts. Us. The victims, survivors. The advocates. The attorneys who refused to look the other way. The journalists under threat if they reported it. The entire Louisiana Legislature and the Governor who unanimously and finally did what should have been done decades ago. We fought for this. We demanded it. And we won.
No more hiding. No more running out the clock. Any pedophile, whether he wears a collar or not, is now subject to our laws. Not “canon law.” Not some made-up, self-serving religious nonsense designed to protect predators. The real law of the land. The one they should have been held to all along. And let’s be honest; these men are guilty on both fronts. Civil and criminal. And now, there is nowhere left for them to hide.
For too long, Louisiana’s Mandatory Reporter Law (Tit. 14, § 131.1) forced everyone to report child sex crimes – except clergy. The very people raping our children were the only ones exempt from reporting it. That was by design. That was their loophole. Their shield. Their excuse. Well, that shield has been ripped away through revision. The “seal of confession” is dead. It is no longer an excuse, which was invoked thousands of times to cover up their crimes against our children. It is no longer the law. We tore it down.
And we will never let it return.
We’ve watched judges and magistrates bow to “canon law” instead of upholding our laws. We’ve seen them hesitate, consider their allegiance to the Church, and weigh their rulings through the lens of religious loyalty instead of justice. Those days are over. Their devotion to the St. Thomas More Society? Over. Their quiet deference to the Church? Over. We see who attends the Red Mass. We know who still clings to that old, broken system. And we are watching.
Canon law is nothing more than an internal corporate policy for a failing institution. And it is more than a “institution.” It was the institutional, systematic, wholesale rape of our precious children. It carries no weight here. It will never again dictate what happens in our courts. It will never again override the laws that we, the survivors, the advocates, the attorneys, an entire legislative body in both chambers and the Governor placed into existence. This is not their church’s domain anymore.
This is our fight. This is our victory. And this is just the beginning. They are small now. Weak. Pathetic. They cower behind ancient rituals and empty words while we stand in the light, in the courts, in the legislature, rewriting the laws they thought they owned. This is our world now, we have agency. Our law. Our justice.
And they are nothing in the face of it.
“But destroying an institution associated with people who do harm is never right.”
“The argument that parishes should not contribute to clergy abuse settlements is a convenient way to absolve the laity of responsibility. It ignores a fundamental truth: the Catholic Church runs on the financial support of its members. As long as Catholics continue tithing without demanding real reform, they are enabling an institution that has protected predators and fought survivors for decades.” – Alex Peyton, Advocate.
Ah, again, the laity blames the victims, not the monsters in the clown outfits.
As of October 2024, the Archdiocese of New Orleans has incurred over $40 million in legal and professional fees related to its bankruptcy proceedings. This figure significantly exceeds the initial estimate of $7 million projected by Archbishop Gregory Aymond. Approximately $13 million of these fees have been paid to the archdiocese’s own bankruptcy attorneys, including the law firm Jones Walker. Additionally, the law firms representing the committee of abuse survivors, Pachulski Stang and Locke Lord, have collectively billed about $13.5 million. The attorneys who represent the victims, just like the victims, are still waiting to be paid a single red cent.
These escalating costs have raised concerns among abuse survivors and their advocates, especially considering that none of the funds have yet been allocated to the victims. The protracted nature of the bankruptcy, now among the oldest and costliest in U.S. history, has further intensified scrutiny over the management and resolution of the case. And the case is a cowardly act after Archbishop Aymon refused to attend depositions, feigning sickness, weather, Lundi Gras. It was also a cowardly act by the federal judges who intentionally sealed the evidence, while in their disclosures, failed to disclose their connections to the catholic church.
In fact, one victim attorney who did the absolute right thing, under Louisiana statute, reported a known child predator in a catholic high school. The outcome? The man, attorney, officer of the court, who did the right thing was fined $400,000.00 by the federal bankruptcy judge for reporting it to law enforcement.
We are not out to destroy Jesus’ bride. We are fumigating the buildings where evil men have infiltrated her. It is our goal to return His bride back to Him in better condition than we found her. And you, the laity, are the very ones who knew, are complicit, and covered up her destruction before a cadre of extraordinary men and women showed up to save her.
We are here to stay, we’re not going away, and we’re finished playing nice. Am I clear Brian Almon?
About the author: Dr. Windmann has been an activist and advocate for chilldhood sex abuse victims and survivors for over a decade. He is one of the co-founders of Survivors of Childhood Sex Abuse, and is currently the president of the organization. He is also a prolific speaker and writer on the subject of childhood sex abuse, and appeared in the Netflix documentary “Scouts Honor: The Secret Files Of The Boy Scouts Of America.” You can contact him at richard.windmann@scsaorg.org.
The free reprint, distribution, dissemination, promulgation and/or sharing of this article, in its whole, by anyone, is not only allowed, but is encouraged.
Letters: Church parishes should not be responsible for abuse settlement