The Millstone: Week of November 8, 2026

This week: the Archdiocese of New York finalized an $800 million abuse settlement, New Orleans added 27 priests to its credibly accused list, and Gary "Tom" Keesee Jr. was found guilty on all counts.

Archdiocese of New York finalizes $800 million abuse settlement

The Archdiocese of New York and lawyers for 1,300 people who said they were sexually abused by its clergy and lay leaders formally agreed to an $800 million settlement on Thursday, bringing years of litigation to a close. The agreement was finalized in the days after both sides agreed to a framework for the deal. According to the report, the settlement might help America's foremost Roman Catholic archdiocese avoid bankruptcy. Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks called it a "just resolution for victim-survivors" in a statement to the archdiocese.

Read more at SNAP

New Orleans archdiocese adds 27 priests to credibly accused list

The Archdiocese of New Orleans released an updated list of clergy removed from ministry over credible claims of child sexual abuse. It added 27 priests, the single-biggest release of new names since the original disclosures in 2018. All of the added priests are deceased. According to the report, the abuse spanned several decades, in some cases as recently as the 1990s, and happened in large urban and suburban parishes as well as small, rural communities. Archbishop James Checchio wrote that the report was released in compliance with the bankruptcy settlement involving survivors, and that "no clergyman with a credible claim of abuse remains in ministry in the Archdiocese of New Orleans."

Read more at BishopAccountability

Former Faith Life Church leader found guilty on all counts

Judge Richard Wetzel delivered a verdict Friday in the sexual assault trial of Gary "Tom" Keesee Jr., a former Faith Life Church leader. The verdict followed testimony from three women who accused him of sexually assaulting them when they were children. Keesee was found guilty on all counts: 11 counts of rape, 11 counts of gross sexual imposition and 5 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The items provided do not say when he will be sentenced.

Read more at BishopAccountability

Swiss Reformed Church plans compensation for abuse victims

The Synod of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Switzerland (EKS) decided Monday in Bern that anyone who suffered sexual, physical or spiritual abuse within the Reformed churches is to receive up to 20,000 francs in compensation. According to an EKS statement, a commission will be established in the first half of 2027 and is scheduled to begin its work in the fall of that year. The report says Protestants in Switzerland are beginning to realize that abuse is not, and never was, a problem exclusive to the Catholic Church.

Read more at SNAP

Survivors press Pope Leo on accountability before South America trip

As Pope Leo prepares to return to South America, Peruvian survivor Pedro Salinas, 63, sees reason for both hope and unease. A journalist and former member, Salinas helped expose allegations of abuse inside Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which the Vatican dissolved in the final days of Pope Francis' papacy last year. "What was achieved, nobody, absolutely nobody, could even have imagined. It was inconceivable. But it happened," he said. SNAP also urged the pope to keep survivors in mind. Executive Director Angela Walker said, "The pope has a responsibility to see that credibly accused clerics are removed from ministry." SNAP says several cases are pending in Argentina, Uruguay and Peru.

Read more at BishopAccountability · SNAP

Arrests and charges

Sheffield, South Yorkshire: Former Crowded House Church leader Stephen Timmis, 68, and his wife Janet Timmis, 61, were charged with eight counts of rape against one person. The offenses are alleged to have happened between May and September 2008, and police say former church members may have information. BishopAccountability

Kollam, India: Mohammed Niyas Jauhari, director of Habeebiyya Islamic Academy, was arrested November 1 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl under the pretext of spiritual healing. The assaults allegedly happened between 2025 and 2026. SNAP

Thiruvananthapuram, India: A priest identified as Rajesh was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000 for raping a woman under the pretext of a ritual to remove an evil spirit. The case dates to April 2016. SNAP

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Pastor Elmer Baca Flores, 41, was convicted of crimes including human trafficking and lewd acts with a minor. Authorities say he forced church members to work without pay and threatened them by claiming to be in MS-13. BishopAccountability

Baltimore, Maryland: Father Laurence LaPointe, 81, pleaded guilty Nov. 4 to a fourth-degree sex offense and common-law assault for abusing a boy at Gilman School in the mid-1970s. He received a suspended three-year sentence and five years of supervised probation. BishopAccountability

Annandale, Virginia: Eric Williams, 52, a former substitute teacher and youth sports coach at St. Michael's Catholic School, was sentenced to 40 years with all but 12 years and 11 months suspended. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of object sexual penetration. BishopAccountability

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Charges are allegations. Everyone charged is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

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