Archdiocese of New Orleans alerts parishioners of deacon accused of sexually abusing children

Archdiocese of New Orleans alerts parishioners of deacon accused of sexually abusing children in 1980s


Days after The Advocate reported that the Archdiocese of New Orleans had agreed to settle a sex-abuse case involving a former church deacon, Archbishop Gregory Aymond issued a letter to members of the deacon's former parish and to Catholics generally to alert them of the accusations.

The letter was addressed primarily to parishioners at Our Lady of the Rosary, where the alleged abuse by Deacon George Brignac began in 1979. It was posted on Aymond's Facebook page Friday afternoon.

The letter says that Brignac was removed from the ministry in 1988, and that prior to that, he had worked as a teacher at St. Francis Cabrini School, St. John Vianney Prep, and St. Matthew the Apostle before his ordination as a deacon.

By 1988, Brignac had been criminally charged at least twice with sexual misconduct — in 1977 in Jefferson Parish and in 1988 in Orleans Parish — without being convicted.

Read more: http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_91a9a1ee-7656-11e8-9bb3-df2dbbd7fe08.html