Ex-seminarian accuses New Orleans archbishop of harassment in decades-long dispute

Over two decades, the dispute has drawn attention from Catholic officials at the highest levels in the US and worldwide. But it was not publicly known until it surfaced as part of a chapter 11 bankruptcy case the New Orleans archdiocese opened amid a wave of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by clerics across generations.

He insisted church officials were to blame for his failure to become a priest, covering for one another and retaliating after he spoke about being teased regarding his African origins and touched inappropriately by Aymond in a private meeting. Eghabor has said he interpreted the alleged touching as a sexual pass. Aymond, who leads nearly 400,000 Catholics in and around New Orleans, vociferously denies ever touching anyone inappropriately.

A US papal ambassador who handled and ultimately dismissed the Eghabor investigation did not respond to calls, emails or a certified letter seeking comment.

Eghabor moved to the US from Nigeria in 1993, after a New Orleans-based Jesuit priest recommended he study for the priesthood under sponsorship from a smaller Louisiana diocese. Eghabor said he seized the chance to study at Notre Dame seminary in New Orleans because he wanted to serve God and thought the diocese wanted more Black clerics.

Eghabor, in the interview, said he now wishes he had simply gone back to Nigeria. But he said he was scared to return to a country convulsed by sectarian violence against Catholics and had worked hard for his opportunity in the US. He resolved to stay, he said, suffering silently if necessary. But then, he said, something happened about which he could not stay quiet.

Contacted later, Ricard declined to discuss his letter.

Aymond, in handling the controversy, acknowledged problems at the seminary but said he was committed to multiculturalism.

According to Eghabor, Aymond pleaded with him to not speak to outside authorities and offered extended counseling and an internship at a church outside New Orleans.

Records confirm that the seminary offered Eghabor an extended internship, which officials insisted was only to help him get the best shot possible at becoming a priest.

When Eghabor learned that, Jacobs said, he demanded Jacobs disregard the recommendation. Jacobs found that to be disobedient.

Eghabor said Jacobs never elaborated on why he found Eghabor to be so disobedient that he deserved termination from his internship. Eghabor asked a lawyer to assess his options, but before they took action, Notre Dame allowed him to get a degree, he said. Nonetheless, without a diocese sponsoring him for ordination, it was useless.

Eghabor said he decided to take Jacobs up on an offer to try his luck at becoming ordained through another diocese. But Jacobs made clear he was required to explain to anyone who asked why Eghabor was looking to be placed elsewhere: he had not been recommended for the clergy.

Eghabor said he applied to more than a dozen dioceses across the US. None accepted him. At least one cited negative evaluations from Aymond and Jacobs.

Eghabor, who denies that, said his lawyers advised him he had a compelling workplace harassment and retaliation case.

Church officials portrayed such demands as extortion. They provided letters in which Egbahor spoke glowingly of Aymond, called him a good man despite the allegedly sour seminary experience, and reflected on how he needed to avoid things distracting him from his academics.

Eghabor said he was particularly concerned about the green card because it had already been partly approved. At one point, he recalled, he followed legal advice to file a formal police complaint, in hopes of obtaining an immigration visa given to crime victims. There is no evidence New Orleans police ever wrote a report on his case, though he provided a complaint number he said officers assigned him.

Even amid the flurry of legal letters, Eghabor said he would only tell his full story if attempts to settle amicably failed.

By 2010, the year after Aymond was appointed New Orleans archbishop, Eghabor was in therapy. His therapist wrote that Eghabor was receiving treatment for prolonged sexual abuse, harassment and abandonment at the hands of Catholic officials. Aymond was singled out by name.

The most significant step Eghabor has taken against Aymond was to accuse him in writing to the papal ambassador in Washington DC in November 2018, almost four weeks after Aymond released a list of clergymen in New Orleans credibly accused of molestation.

The clergy abuse list released by Aymond spurred a wave of lawsuits against the New Orleans archdiocese, which filed for bankruptcy in May 2020. That left anyone alleging harm at the hands of the archdiocese or its clergy facing a March 2021 deadline to come forward or forever lose the right to demand compensation.

Claims through the bankruptcy are sealed from public view. Eghabor provided a copy of his claim and agreed to discuss it, citing his free speech rights. Spokespeople for Aymond then agreed to discuss aspects of the dispute and defend the archbishop.

Eghabor said it was appalling the church could find him lacking credibility without speaking to the principal figures in his case. He was worried, he said, about whether he would be treated fairly in the bankruptcy proceeding, which remains pending.