I am a Catholic that adamantly opposes the hypocrisy within the church. I find this so wrong they knew every one of them knew, the bishops knew in New Orleans, Vasquez, Sis, and Mlskel in Austin knew, I hope these ladies find a good lawyer and sue them for allowing him to stay in all of these parishes. Why wasn’t he put on the list of credibly accused?? He impregnated a parishioner!!! The church has become nothing more than a large corrupt organization!
And we’re supposed to believe nobody in Church leadership saw the red flags?
Give me a break.
The faithful are expected to trust the Church, yet time and again it seems some Church officials are more concerned with protecting the institution than protecting the people sitting in the pews.
How many complaints were made?
How many warnings were ignored?
How many women had to suffer before someone finally did something?
How many bishops, diocesan officials, and church leaders knew pieces of this story and chose silence?
Those are the questions that need answers.
What infuriates me most is that these women sought out a priest during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. They weren’t looking for a boyfriend. They weren’t looking for a secret affair. They were looking for spiritual guidance. They trusted a man they believed represented God. According to the jury’s verdict, that trust was exploited.
That is not simply immoral. It is a betrayal of everything the priesthood is supposed to stand for.
And let’s talk about accountability.
For decades, Catholics have been promised transparency. We’ve been promised reforms. We’ve been promised that lessons have been learned. Yet here we are again, reading another story about another priest and wondering who knew what and why nobody stopped it sooner.
Enough.
If Church officials knew about misconduct and allowed him to remain in ministry, they should be held accountable.
If complaints were buried, those responsible should be named.
If warnings were ignored, the public deserves to know who ignored them.
If policies were violated, there should be consequences.
The Church does not belong to bishops. It does not belong to diocesan administrators. It belongs to the faithful who have spent generations supporting it, believing in it, and trusting it.
That trust was shattered.
Today Father Odiong was convicted.
Now it’s time to shine a light on everyone else who may have enabled, ignored, concealed, excused, or failed to stop what was happening.
Because one guilty verdict does not answer the question that so many Catholics are asking:
How many people knew, and why was he allowed to keep hurting women for so long?
The victims deserved better.
The faithful deserved better.
And the Church should be ashamed if it had the power to stop this sooner and chose not to.
This version hits harder while staying focused on demanding accountability rather than making factual claims that haven’t been proven.
