The Diocese of Lafayette stated it had reported a sexual abuse allegation made against the Rev. Joseph Alexander, who served as a priest at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Eunice from 1988 to 2002, to Eunice Police.
The Diocese stated that on Jan. 28 “the Diocese received information regarding a new allegation, namely, that Father Alexander sexually abused a minor when he was assigned as a priest at Saint Anthony Catholic Church in Eunice. Father Alexander served at Saint Anthony Parish from September 9, 1988 to April 12, 2002.”
Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot said the Diocese sent the name of the priest and an alleged victim.
“The victim never came to us,” he said.
Police do not have any contact information for the alleged victim, he said.
“We asked the Diocese if the could get back in touch with the victm to have him contact us if wants to come forward,” he said.
“They are not sure that he wants to come forward. He wanted to keep it all quiet and confidential,” Fontenot said.
The same situation occurred in another case, he said. Police asked for the victim’s name from the Diocese, but the name was given, he said.
“But we found out who the victim was and reached out to the victim. The victim never came in to file a complaint,” he said.
The Diocese statement also included, “In 2002 the Reverend Joseph Alexander, a priest of the Diocese of Lafayette, was removed from ministry by Bishop Edward O’Donnell regarding allegations that he abused a youth in the early 1960’s prior to ordination. At the time of the alleged abuse, he was a Benedictine monk (religious brother) in Uniontown, Kentucky. Father Alexander joined the Benedictine order in 1955 and was ordained for them in 1973. He became a priest of the Diocese of Lafayette in 1987. He has also served at Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic Church, Lafayette; Saint Thomas More High School, Lafayette; and Holy Rosary Institute, Lafayette.”
According to the Official Catholic Directory found online, Alexander served from 1955 to 19784 at St. Mark’s Monastery, South Union, Kentucky; 1984 to 1988 at Our Lady of Wisdom, University of Southwestern Louisiana; 1985 to 1987, St. Thomas More High School, Lafayette, as a teacher; 1987 to 1988, Holy Rosary Institute, Lafayette, as a principal; and finally at St. Anthony and at St. Edmund Catholic School where he was chancellor.
In August 2018, the late Rev. Kenneth Morvant, who was an associate pastor at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Eunice from 1966 to 1970, was identified by the Diocese as having been accused of child sex abuse.
“The Diocese of Lafayette has been made aware of allegations of sexual abuse of minors against Father Kenneth Morvant (deceased), alleged to have happened 35 to 40 years ago. Father Morvant served as a priest from 1961 to 2003, a period of 42 years, before he died on December 13, 2003. There is no evidence of Father Morvant being implicated in the abuse of minors. These allegations, however, are being given appropriate consideration. Father Kenneth Morvant, though deceased, maintains the presumption of innocence unless proven otherwise.”
Morvant was a native of Abbeville and was ordained on June 3, 1961, at the Cathedral of St. John in Lafayette, according to The Daily Advertiser.
In 2014, The Advocate reported that then-Bishop Gerard Frey in a January 1988 deposition called Harry Quick a child molester.
The Adocated reported, “Quick was forced to undergo counseling after allegations arose in 1977 at St. Thomas More Church in Eunice, Frey said, noting that another priest met with the parents of the child to set up counseling for the youth.
“Frey said Quick was removed from the church parish in 1977 and sent to Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana, for counseling. He was later assigned as chaplain at a hospital.
“But by 1980, Quick was back in another Lafayette Diocese church parish, where the parents of another boy reported abuse by him.
“Asked why Quick had been assigned to another church parish by the diocese, Frey claimed he was getting confused on dates and could not answer the question.”
Lafayette Diocese Bishop Michael Jarrell in 2004 disclosed that 123 victims molested by 15 diocesan priests received $24.4 million, almost all of that paid by insurance companies, the newspaper reported.
The Lafayette Diocese has yet to release a list of priests credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.
In the statement released Friday, : Bishop Douglas Deshotel is once again urging anyone with knowledge of sex abuse of a minor to come forward to authorities and to the Diocese of Lafayette.”
