Louisiana State Police Expand Clergy Abuse Investigation, Seeking Vatican Records

The Louisiana State Police have expanded their investigation into the New Orleans Archdiocese's handling of clergy sexual abuse, executing a sweeping search warrant at the archdiocese's offices. The warrant seeks a long-secreted cache of church records and communications between local church leaders and the Vatican about the church's response to abuse allegations.

The investigation aims to determine what church leaders, including Archbishop Gregory Aymond and his predecessors, knew about abuse claims and whether they covered them up. The warrant revealed new details about the abuse, including claims that some victims were assaulted in a seminary swimming pool and that predatory priests had a system of sharing victims.

The search warrant sought an exhaustive range of personnel records and documents showing the extent to which the archdiocese continued supporting clergymen even after they were added to the "credibly accused" list of suspected predators. The investigation is examining whether priests took children across state lines to molest them, and the warrant confirmed a parallel FBI examination of clergy sexual abuse.

Why this matters: The expanded investigation could deepen the legal peril for church leaders in New Orleans, exposing them to potential state court prosecutions. It is part of a broader reckoning within the Catholic Church over its handling of sexual abuse allegations.

The search comes amid the archdiocese's bankruptcy case, in which many explosive church records have been shielded under a confidentiality order. The archdiocese has been openly discussing sex abuse for over 20 years and says it is committed to working with law enforcement, but the investigation suggests a pattern of church leaders ignoring and covering up abuse claims for decades.

The investigation has also led to the indictment of Lawrence Hecker, a 92-year-old disgraced priest, on charges of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 1975. The archdiocese failed to report Hecker's admissions to law enforcement while permitting him to work around children until he quietly left the ministry in 2002.

In a statement, the archdiocese said it "pledges its full cooperation to law enforcement in investigating and bringing to justice those individuals responsible for these horrific actions, no matter how long ago they occurred." However, the search warrant indicates that church leaders are suspected of shielding predatory priests and failing to report their crimes for decades, prioritizing the church's reputation over the safety of children.

Key Takeaways

• Louisiana State Police expand probe into New Orleans Archdiocese's handling of clergy abuse.
• Warrant seeks records on church leaders' knowledge and response to abuse allegations.
• Investigation examines if priests took children across state lines to molest them.
• Archdiocese failed to report abuse admissions, allowed priest to work around children.
• Probe could deepen legal peril for church leaders, expose decades of cover-ups.