The abuse meted out by Catholic priests to their victims over decades has been well documented after the Vatican uncovered evidence of widespread wrongdoing in dozens of cases.
Now, a group that represents those victims is calling for Pope Francis himself to open an investigation into the culture of the church in Louisiana that it believes led to a most unholy act – a romp with prostitutes in God’s house.
Priest Travis Clark was caught late last month having sex with two corset-clad dominatrices on the altar by a witness who recorded part of the act on their phone then called the cops. Clark was the leader of the congregation at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Pearl River — about 40 miles northeast of the Crescent City, until he was relieved of his duties following the incident.
Clark, 37, and the women — 41-year-old adult film actress Mindy Dixon and 23-year-old Melissa Cheng — were arrested on obscenity charges because they were in public view.
(St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office)
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests closely monitors the number of deviant priests and their actions. Following the unsavory behavior the group has sent a letter to Pope Francis asking him to send someone to investigate Clark’s boss, Gregory Aymond, the archbishop of New Orleans, according to a report from local station Fox8.
“He has lost control of his priests. What are the secrets that he’s hiding? The only way we can know is if an investigator comes in and goes through his archives,” SNAP leader, Kevin Bourgeouis said, according to the outlet.
Bourgeouis said that with such a cluster of sexual abuse and obscenity in the ranks of the priesthood, he fears for other possible sexual abuse, and the lack of judgment he says starts at the top.
“As a catholic priest who did it on the altar, what other judgment lack of judgment does he have. Has he had possibly with minor. I believe the only way this church and the city is going to survive is get someone from the outside to come in and start from the beginning and when that does happen SNAP will be there to support whatever archbishop is replaced,” Bourgeois said.
Meanwhile, Aymond on Saturday consecrated a new altar at the Sts. Peter and Paul church following the threesome.
“The church is a very holy place,” Aymond told the congregation, according to local NBC affiliate WDSU.
“When a church has been used for unholy things and it has been desecrated, we must drive away the evil spirit, and that is what we do today.”
As he blessed the church’s new altar, Aymond said that the previous one had been removed and burned, according to WDSU.
“Let me be clear my sisters and brothers, there is no excuse for what took place here. It is sinful, and it is totally unacceptable,” he said, according to the outlet. “Anyone like that obviously cannot serve in priesthood ministry, and he will not be able to serve as a priest anytime in the future.
Bradley Phillips, an attorney representing the dominatrices Dixon and Cheng, said in a statement that the women were consenting adults who are now being unfairly targeted.
“It is very regrettable that Ms. Dixon and Ms. Cheng are being presented to the world as criminals when, in fact, they have done nothing wrong,” the statement read.
“The fact that this involved a priest or took place in a church is completely irrelevant. The only pertinent question is if it took place in view of the public. Clearly that is not the case. The evidence will show that an individual had to enter the church’s private property and look through a window to see what was taking place. By definition, then, it was not in public view.