Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Kevin Bourgeois with Archbishop Gregory Aymond (CNS photo/courtesy Archdiocese of New Orleans)Kevin Bourgeois with Archbishop Gregory Aymond (CNS photo/courtesy Archdiocese of New Orleans)

Ongoing discussions between Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond, of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and Kevin Bourgeois, the leader of the New Orleans chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, have led to a significant broadening and restructuring of the archdiocese’s response to abuse survivors.

Archbishop Aymond announced on Feb. 11 that Joey Pistorius, director of the archdiocesan Catholic Counseling Service, will become the new victims assistance coordinator in April. Mr. Bourgeois, who is a licensed clinical social worker, will serve as a volunteer and will offer training to the counseling team when there are disclosures of sexual abuse trauma.

“There’s no need for us to be at odds,” Archbishop Aymond said of the relationship between the archdiocese and SNAP. “We want the same thing, and reconciliation has happened.”

And the archbishop, on the recommendation of Mr. Bourgeois and other victim advocates, plans to appoint a sexual abuse survivor to the Independent Review Board, a body primarily composed of lay professionals, which reviews allegations of abuse to determine their credibility and makes recommendations to the archbishop.

“There’s no need for us to be at odds,” Archbishop Aymond said of the relationship between the archdiocese and SNAP. “We want the same thing, and reconciliation has happened,” he said. “We will work together. Independently, the archdiocese can do many things well, and independently, SNAP can do many things well. We can do more together.”

The archbishop first met with Mr. Bourgeois on Dec. 15, initiating “some very open and frank discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of what we’re doing.”

“It really opened up the question: Let’s start from scratch. Let’s start from the very beginning and see what we can do, what we can do better,” Archbishop Aymond said.

The new victims assistance response team will work together to address the individual needs of each survivor.

The latest from america

Frank Turnbull, S.J., a longtime editor at 'America' who died earlier this week, is remembered as a humble, quiet and yet forceful presence to those who knew him during his 85 years of life.
James T. KeaneJuly 18, 2025
A Reflection for Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Zac Davis
Zac DavisJuly 18, 2025
Trauma-informed spirituality knows better than to promise that prayer will take away all the pain. But it can offer the hope that, even in the midst of pain, there can be moments of feeling whole.
Nicole KirpalaniJuly 18, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Pope Leo XIV, who urged Israel’s leader to revive negotiations and enact a ceasefire.