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The Vatican has not yet responded to a whistleblower complaint in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after local Catholics alleged that diocesan officials did not appropriately address allegations of sexual misconduct against a priest assigned in the diocese, including an alleged admission by the priest of sexual contact with minors — an admission the priest denies.

Cathedral interiorSt. Joseph Cathedral, Baton Rouge. Credit: Farragutful/wikimedia. CC BY SA 3.0

While a local whistleblower filed in February a report with the U.S. bishops’ third-party reporting system, he says he was told by officials in the Archdiocese of New Orleans that they have not yet received direction on the matter from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops.

Vos estis lux mundi, the Vatican’s policy on addressing allegations of abuse or neglect of duties by bishops, requires that the dicastery “provid[e] the appropriate instructions on how to proceed in the specific case” within 30 days of receiving a complaint.

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An adult Catholic male in the Diocese of Baton Rouge told The Pillar that in September 2025, he met with Fr. Charbel Jamhoury, a Lebanese Maronite priest who was then pastor of St. Isidore the Farmer parish in Baker, Louisiana.

Soon after, the man reported to the diocese inappropriate conduct on

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