Archdiocese Releases Public Apology Letter to All Abuse Claimants

 NEW ORLEANS, La - Beginning this weekend, throughout Louisiana and beyond, the Archdiocese of New Orleans is releasing a public apology letter from Archbishop Aymond to all claimants of child sexual abuse. This extensive media outreach is part of the Archdiocese of New Orleans’s commitment to the nonmonetary provisions laid out in its Chapter 11 settlement plan. The letter will run in print first on January 4, 2026 and throughout the upcoming days and weeks in the various media markets.
 
In the letter, Archbishop Aymond expresses, “profound regret over the tragic and inexcusable harm” child sexual abuse survivors suffered writing, “I sincerely apologize to you for the trauma caused to you and to those close to you as a survivor of sexual abuse perpetrated by a member of the clergy, a religious sister or brother, or a lay employee or volunteer working within the Catholic Church.” In the letter Archbishop Aymond describes sexual abuse as “an inexcusable evil” and expressed shame that survivors were sexually abused by someone working within the Catholic Church.  
 
“Please know that you are not to blame for the abuse perpetrated on you,” writes the archbishop. “You were and are completely innocent and did nothing to deserve the pain you have suffered because of the hideous crime of sexual abuse of a minor. The Archdiocese of New Orleans takes responsibility for the abuse you have suffered and pledges to keep children and all vulnerable people safe in our ministry.”
 
The complete text of the letter may be found online now on the archdiocesan website at nolacatholic.org. It is also online now at clarionherald.org and will be in print in the upcoming edition of the Clarion Herald.
 
In addition to the archdiocesan media, the letter will be printed in its entirety in the following publications: Times Picayune (New Orleans), the Shreveport Times (Shreveport, LA), Hammond Daily Star (Hammond, LA), Lafayette Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, LA), Monroe News Star (Monroe, LA), Alexandria Town Talk (Alexandria, LA), Houma Courier (Houma, LA), American Press (Lake Charles, LA), Jennings Daily News (Jennings, LA), Daily Iberian (New Iberia), the Houston Chronicle (Houston, TX), the Clarion Ledger (Jackson, MS), Daily Review (Morgan City, LA), Minden Press Herald (Minden, LA), The Crowley Post Signal (Crowley, LA), Abbeville Meridonial (Abbeville, LA), Opelousas Daily World (Opelousas, LA), Plaquemines Gazette (serving Plaquemines Parish, LA), St. Bernard Voice (serving St. Bernard Parish, LA), L’Observateur (serving the River Parishes, LA), St. Charles Herald-Guide (serving St. Charles Parish), Lutcher News Examiner (serving St. James Parish), the Tangi Times (serving Tangipahoa Parish), and Bogalusa Daily News (Bogalusa, LA). The letter will also be in print in the Bayou Catholic, the official paper of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, in its next available edition in February 2026.
 
###
 
The Archdiocese of New Orleans has zero tolerance for abuse.  God has chosen you to protect his children.  If  you have cause to believe a minor has been abused, contact the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (1-855-452-5437) or local law enforcement.