ALABAMA
Lagniappe
By: JASON JOHNSON | 14 HOURS AGO
A 2013 case over bullying and harassment at St. Pius X Catholic School in Mobile has unearthed what appears to be acknowledgement of sexual abuse allegations made against the school’s pastor, Johnny S. Savoie.
However, after the discovery, Mobile’s Archdiocese seems to have gone silent attempting to prevent any further questions or subpoenas relating to the incident.
In the original case, A.S. v. St. Pius X, a student plaintiff claims to have suffered repeated bullying at the school for more than a year despite attempts her mother made to address the issue with teachers and church administrators.
Since the case was first brought on, more clients have been added into separate, but similar cases — all of which are being led by local attorneys David Kennedy and Christine Hernandez.
While searching through Savoie’s personal files, the attorneys found a transcript of an address the pastor gave to his parish in February 2014. That letter reads as follows:
“An accusation has been made against me that approximately nine years ago I was involved in an inappropriate sexual conduct with a 16-year-old. The accusation was reported to the archdiocese and then communicated to me. I adamantly deny the accusation. The archdiocese reported the accusation to the District Attorney, in accord with the Archdiocesan policy. I requested to take a lie detector test. I did so, and it was determined that I answered the questions with no deceit. The archdiocese has determined there is no evidence to support the accusation. Therefore, I will remain serving as a pastor of St.Pius X Parish. I ask for your prayers for me and for all concerned.” – Johnny S. Savoie.
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