Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen, New Jersey, has been appointed coadjutor archbishop of New Orleans, a role that grants him the right of succession as Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond retires. The appointment lands at an inflection point for the local church, with a long running Chapter 11 case approaching decisive milestones, a survivor community […]
NEW ORLEANS – Sept. 9, 2025 – Survivors of clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of New Orleans are weighing a revised bankruptcy plan that now guarantees at least $230 million for compensation – an increase meant to secure enough “yes” votes to confirm a deal five years after the church sought Chapter 11 protection. […]
It’s been five years since the Archdiocese of New Orleans crawled under the sanctuary of Chapter 11 bankruptcy; five years of delays, deceit, and deliberate cruelty. What was billed as a path toward healing has metastasized into a courtroom circus, orchestrated by cowards in cassocks and rubber-stamped by a judiciary more interested in preserving collars […]
Five years after the Archdiocese of New Orleans filed for bankruptcy, survivors Catholic Church abuse are asking a federal judge to shut the entire process down. On Tuesday, attorneys representing survivors filed a motion to dismiss the Archdiocese’s Chapter 11 case, calling it a bad-faith maneuver that has prolonged suffering, shielded church assets, and wasted […]
In a pivotal moment of justice long delayed, former priest Lawrence Hecker, 93, pleaded guilty to all charges against him as his trial was set to begin. Hecker faced charges of aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, and theft for the 1975 assault of a teenage boy in a church—a crime that remained […]
JEFFERSON PARISH (SCSA) The V.M. Wheeler case has always been peculiar and sparked our interest. Wheeler, an Attorney and a Catholic Deacon in the New Orleans Archdiocese, died of pancreatic cancer just months into serving a sentence of probation. He was originally charged with 1st Degree Rape of a Child Under 13, using a weapon. […]
There is a crisis in the Federal Louisiana Eastern District Courts. Federal Judges Wendy Vitter, Jay Zainey, Sarah Vance, Ivan Lemelle, Lance Africk immediately recused themselves from the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ Federal Bankruptcy case. They are some of New Orleans' fourteen federal district judges and five magistrates, who mostly handle pre-trial matters. Later, under pressure, Federal […]
It was the summer of 2011, and I was summoned to the office of a psychologist in Dallas, and Raymond Fitzgerald, the President of Jesuit High School, who flew from New Orleans to attend. Jesuit paid for the psychologist as a part of their due diligence, to determine if I was telling the truth about […]
Hundreds of clergy sexual abuse survivors, who had filed claims against the Archdiocese of New Orleans after it declared bankruptcy, were surprised to receive letters from the church's lawyers last month. The letters included personal information, like the full names and addresses of the survivors, and three "requests", which the letter stressed required no action […]
The Archdiocese of New Orleans recently released a statement labeling the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine "morally compromised." They discouraged Catholics from getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, advising them to instead get the previously released Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. The church's statement explained that, under guidance from the Vatican, the United States Conference of […]
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