The sex act between a Catholic priest and two “dominatrices,” which allegedly happened on an altar of a Louisiana church, was nothing short of demonic desecration, the archbishop has ruled.
Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans ordered the removal and burning of the altar of the Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in Pearl River, Luisiana. The move was in response to a sex scandal involving the now-former priest of the church, who was arrested on charges of obscenity last week. Travis Clark was allegedly caught filming himself having sex with two women, described as “dominatrices” by the media, on the altar of the church entrusted to his ministry.
“His obscene behavior was deplorable. His desecration of the altar in church was demonic. I am infuriated by his actions,” Aymond said in a video address on Friday. “When the details became clear, we had the altar removed and burned. I will consecrate a new altar tomorrow.”
A Pearl River priest was arrested last week on accusations that a person passing by the clergyman's church saw him having sex with two women atop the altar, according to courts records | https://t.co/7kP8aSgqVA
According to court papers, Clark, 37 invited Mindy Dixon, 41, and Melissa Cheng, 23 to the church to engage in group sex. It reportedly involved sex toys and was filmed in a semi-professional setting, which included lighting equipment.
An onlooker spotted what was happening and called the police, who arrested the three at the scene and seized the incriminating pornographic evidence. One of the women reportedly bragged on social media that she was about to “defile a house of God” before going to the encounter.
The scandal is one of two that have rocked the New Orleans archdiocese recently and which Aymond addressed in the statement. The other involves Pat Wattingy, who was suspended from the ministry and reported to secular authorities after confessing that he had sexually abused a child in the past. Wattingy, 53, also stands accused of “grooming” a male student at Pope John Paul II High School, where he served as a chaplain until his resignation several weeks ago.
The Archbishop said the man was removed from school after repeatedly violating a policy that forbids priests from exchanging text messages with students, but that contrary to what the lawyers for the family claim, the exchanges were not sexual in nature. A month-long evaluation that followed the suspension resulted in Wattingy admitting to the sexual abuse, Aymond said.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that Clark was appointed to replace Wattingy as the school chaplain shortly before being caught up in the most recent scandal.
“Many people feel anger, betrayal and disappointment, and I feel the same way, as do my brother priests,” Aymond said, adding that the actions of the disgraced former priests were “unacceptable, sinful and cannot be tolerated.” Neither of them would serve ever again in the Catholic ministry, he promised.
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