A bankruptcy-court judge has ordered the Archdiocese of New Orleans to stop support payments to priests who have been accused—but not convicted—of sexual abuse.

Judge Meredith Grabill said that five priests who have been accused of sexual molestation—but are not on the list of clerics who are “credibly accused”—must not receive regular monthly stipends, but must join with other creditors in waiting for the bankruptcy settlement.


The judge rejected the argument of the archdiocese that the payment of clerics is required by the Code of Canon Law. Church law obliges a diocese to pay for the support of priests unless they are laicized.