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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans

Louisiana church remembers abuse victims after reversal over prayers for convicted priest

A chapel surrounded by plants and religious statuary.
Our Lady of Guadalupe chapel in Luling, Luisiana, on 29 May 2026. Photograph: Ramon Antonio Vargas

A Louisiana Catholic church that solicited prayers for a former pastor recently sentenced to life imprisonment for criminal clerical sexual assault, then backed off, having offended his victims, is asking its community to pray for survivors of clergy abuse.

The shift took place in an updated 7 June parochial bulletin published by St Anthony of Padua church in the New Orleans suburb of Luling, Louisiana, where priest Anthony Odiong was pastor from 2015 to late 2023.

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