(OSV News) — A permanent deacon in the
Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, whose then-teenage son was molested by the priest he once served alongside, is now excommunicated after leaving his ministry, because he formally left the Catholic Church, according to the recent decree written by his bishop.
“I’m very surprised — I assumed at some point that they would possibly laicize me, but excommunication … that thought never crossed my mind,” Deacon Scott Peyton, who was ordained in 2012 and had served until December 2023, told OSV News. He provided OSV News a digital copy of the March 13 letter he had received from Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of Lafayette.
The document — printed on the bishop’s letterhead, signed by both Bishop Deshotel and the diocesan chancellor, and marked with the diocesan seal — acknowledged Deacon Peyton’s Dec. 4, 2023, email stating what the deacon called his intention to resign from the
diaconate and leave the Catholic Church.
“The pain and suffering endured by the victims (of
clergy sexual abuse), our family, and most importantly our son, coupled with what appears to be a systemic failure in addressing and preventing such heinous acts, have left me disillusioned and unable to reconcile my commitment to the Church with my conscience,” Deacon Peyton wrote.
Incurring automatic excommunication
Continued below.
A permanent deacon in the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, whose then-teenage son was molested by the priest he once served alongside, is now excommunicated after leaving his ministry, because he formally left the Catholic Church, according to the recent decree written by his bishop.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
Man, these are another set of gross church leaders that need to be ousted. The actions of these church leaders are abhorrent, despicable, and an affront to God's sacred plan for human sexuality. These perverted actions not only betray the trust of a vulnerable young boy but also tarnish the sanctity of the priesthood and the Church. Seems that Fr. Michael Guidry ignored 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, which says "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." He defiled a minor, and himself. I could rant on about how evil these church figures are, but I will let you guys read the article summary below.
For those who have little time, here is a summary of the article:
In an unprecedented move, Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, has excommunicated Deacon Scott Peyton after the deacon formally left the Catholic Church following his teenage son's molestation by a priest. The incident occurred in 2015, and Father Michael Guidry, the perpetrator, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2019.
Deacon Peyton, who had served as a deacon since his ordination in 2012, expressed his disillusionment with the Church's handling of the sexual abuse scandal and its failure to prevent such incidents. In a letter to Bishop Deshotel on December 4, 2023, Deacon Peyton announced his intention to resign from the diaconate and leave the Catholic Church.
Bishop Deshotel acknowledged Deacon Peyton's resignation in a March 13 letter, removing him from all ecclesiastical offices and declaring him "irregular for the exercise of the sacred order of the diaconate." The bishop also declared that Deacon Peyton had incurred the "latae sententiae" censure of excommunication, effective on the day he received the bishop's letter.
Unlike a "ferendae sententiae" canonical penalty, which is not binding until formally imposed on an offender, a "latae sententiae" excommunication is automatically incurred upon the commission of specific offenses, such as apostasy or heresy.
Deacon Peyton and his family had joined Trinity Anglican Church in Lafayette, Louisiana, on January 21, 2024. In a Facebook post, the deacon shared his family's decision to leave the Catholic Church and expressed gratitude for prayers from the diocese.
The bishop's response to Deacon Peyton's decision was initially pastoral, with Bishop Deshotel expressing sadness and offering assistance. However, the deacon had not received any further communication from the bishop until he received the March 13 decree.
The Peyton family's ordeal began in 2018 when their son, Oliver, revealed that he had been molested by Father Guidry at the rectory of St. Peter Catholic Church in Morrow, Louisiana. The diocese settled a civil lawsuit with the family in April 2021 and issued a formal apology.
Deacon Peyton expressed mixed feelings about leaving the Church, stating that he had wanted to give it a chance and continue serving as a deacon despite his son's trauma. However, he felt that the Church was not learning from past mistakes and was causing further harm to his family's faith.
Bishop Deshotel lamented the need to impose censures on Deacon Peyton but believed they were intended to be medicinal for both the person imposing them and those subjected to them. He urged Deacon Peyton to return to the Church, emphasizing that it was not perfect but a means of salvation entrusted by God.
