(OSV News) — A Texas bishop is assuring the faithful their sacraments remain valid after the priest who administered them was sentenced to life imprisonment for sexual assaults of several women in his spiritual care — with the criminal trial allegedly revealing information unreported to the diocese.
Life Sentence Handed Down
Bishop Daniel E. Garcia of Austin released a June 3 pastoral message a day after Father Anthony Odiong received life in prison plus two 20-year prison terms and $30,000 in fines.
The 57-year-old priest had been convicted of one charge of sexual assault in the first degree and two in the second degree in a May 29 verdict delivered at the 19th State District Court in Waco, Texas.
Under Texas law, clergy abuse of adults in their pastoral care is a felony. Other states, such as Georgia, have also criminalized such conduct.
The case — which has been extensively covered since 2023 by investigative journalist Ramon Antonio Vargas for The Guardian — highlights the Catholic Church’s ongoing challenges in addressing clergy sexual predation of adults in situations where they are vulnerable, particularly in relationships of pastoral care or spiritual guidance.
Father Odiong, who had pleaded not guilty on May 27, will serve the two 20-year prison terms concurrently. Judge Thomas West gave the priest credit for time served in the McLennan County Jail, where Father Odiong had been incarcerated since 2024. He cannot seek parole until he has been credited with at least 30 years of his sentence.
Bishop responds, assures faithful
In his message, which was posted to the Diocese of Austin’s website, Bishop Garcia said he was “grateful for the investigation and work of the local enforcement officials,” with whom he said diocesan officials had cooperated during the investigation.
“I also want to thank the victims for testifying,” said Bishop Garcia.
“I have been informed that an appeal is likely,” he noted, adding, “We will continue our prayers for a just result and cooperate as necessary.”
He stressed that “the sacraments administered by Fr. Odiong … were and remain valid.”
Referencing the teaching of St. Augustine, he said, “The validity of the Sacrament depends on Christ and the form, matter, and intent of the Sacrament, not on the moral status of the minister.”
Bishop Garcia also clarified that “Anthony Odiong remains a priest but is without faculties to generally engage in priestly ministry.”
Questions over what the diocese knew
The bishop acknowledged in his statement that “there have been questions and speculation about what the diocese knew in 2012 when Fr. Odiong left the diocese regarding any inappropriate behavior on his part at that time.”
The bishop said that “while the diocese did receive allegations of misconduct before Fr. Odiong left on his own, the information known to us at the time did not indicate the level of criminality and egregious nature of the details revealed in court testimony.”
Bishop Garcia noted that “allegations of criminal sexual assault were first reported to local law enforcement by the victims in 2024.”
In a December 2023 article for The Guardian, Vargas noted that Father Odiong had been allowed to minister in the Diocese of Austin in 2006, led at the time by then-Bishop Gregory M. Aymond, who was appointed archbishop of New Orleans in 2009. (Archbishop Aymond’s canonically required retirement was accepted in 2026, with Archbishop James F. Checchio, who had been appointed coadjutor in 2025, succeeding him.)
In a May 29 statement provided to OSV News shortly after the trial verdict was announced, the Archdiocese of New Orleans — which called Father Odiong’s actions “reprehensible” — confirmed the priest arrived in that archdiocese “in 2015 at the request of the Bishop of Uyo in Nigeria as he continued the studies he began in Rome.”
Then-Bishop Aymond had received “no complaints” against the priest in the Diocese of Austin, said the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
However, the archdiocese confirmed Father Odiong had been removed from ministry and as pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Luling, Louisiana, in 2023 “following a series of inflammatory comments made from the altar and additional information reported to the archdiocese.”
The archdiocese said its officials “first learned of the allegation he fathered a child through media coverage of his criminal trial in Texas.”
Canonical proceedings ahead
Bishop Garcia said Father Odiong’s guilty verdict and sentence mark “the first of potentially many steps that will follow including his appeal, civil and pastoral conversations with the victims, and canonical inquiries or proceedings.”
The bishop said he has been “asked if canonical proceedings will begin to seek the dismissal of Fr. Odiong from the clerical state” and admitted, “This is a question that I, alone cannot answer.”
Bishop Garcia said he “must seek counsel from the proper dicastery in the Holy See as well as the bishop of Fr. Odiong’s home Diocese of Uyo.”
He noted, “It is typical that canonical proceedings are not initiated or are paused while criminal or civil litigation occurs, so as not to jeopardize the fair and equitable administration of justice. It is my intention to make the proper inquiries.”
A prayer for healing
Bishop Garcia said his “prayers focus on the victims, their families, law enforcement, investigators, and the community of the faithful in the diocese, especially in the Waco and West areas.”
“I pray that this process has brought them some peace,” he said. “The longer process of healing continues. I also pray for God’s wisdom and mercy to be bestowed on all who so desperately need His mercy and consolation.”
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.
