The Vatican has opened an investigation into the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, following allegations that Bishop Michael Duca failed to report that a diocesan priest initiated inappropriate sexual contact with a male parishioner.
Local outlet WLBT reported that though the diocese removed Father Charbel Jamhoury from his ministry at St. Isidore the Farmer Catholic Church in February, that step occurred months after it received a complaint about him in October 2025.
According to The Pillar, a report compiled by Luke Zumo, a Catholic in the diocese and the whistleblower on the abuse allegations, claims that Fr. Jamhoury attempted to coerce an adult male into sexual contact, touched him inappropriately, and discussed his sexual history. The priest also admitted to having sexual contact with minors, the report allegedly states.
The Pillar added that Zumo’s report — filed in February with the Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service — further says Bishop Michael Duca and Vicar General Father Jamin David did not tell the Office of Child and Youth Protection or the diocesan review board that they had received an allegation of a priest seeking inappropriate contact with a parishioner. According to the report, the diocesan leaders also did not say anything about the priest’s confession that he had had sexual contact with minors.
More than two months after Zumo filed the report, he was informed that the Archdiocese of New Orleans had not received instructions on how to proceed with an investigation into the diocese’s handling of the allegations, according to The Pillar. However, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops was supposed to issue those instructions within 30 days of receiving notice of the report.
The instructions were reportedly received last week, authorizing New Orleans Archbishop James Checcio to begin an investigation. He has 65 days to organize and conduct the investigation, as well as file a report with the Vatican.
WLBT reported that Zumo is a diocesan-mandated reporter of abuse and a friend of the man Fr. Jamhoury attempted to coerce. According to the outlet, the man filed a complaint with the diocese in October 2025, and Zumo scheduled meetings with Bishop Duca and Fr. David around the same time. However, he alleges that no steps were taken for two months, prompting him to go to the authorities in December.
Zumo told WLBT that the diocese immediately contacted him and tried to persuade him to keep the matter private.
“After I hung up the phone with the detective, I actually received an urgent call from Bishop Duca. So I’m assuming Father Jamin and Bishop Duca read my email, and Bishop Duca called me urgently,” Zumo said, according to the outlet. “He said, Luke, you don’t need to call law enforcement. You’re just going to muddy the waters.”
Zumo said that he met with Bishop Duca, who later sent Fr. Jamhoury to an inpatient facility for a comprehensive physical, mental, and psychological exam. The exam cleared Fr. Jamhoury for ministry, according to Zumo. To avoid having Fr. Jamhoury return to the parish, Zumo and his friend told the bishop they would inform the parishioners about their claims.
The diocese announced in February that Fr. Jamhoury would be removed from pastoral ministry effective immediately following “a report of serious boundary violations.” The diocese also said that “no allegations of physical sexual abuse or criminal activity have been reported to diocesan officials in this situation or at any time during Father Charbel’s service in the diocese.”
The Diocese of Baton Rouge did not respond to a request for further comment by the time of publication.