NEW ORLEANS — Another priest with the Archdiocese of New Orleans has been removed from the ministry after a lawsuit was filed in civil court alleging that he abused a minor in 2008.
The suit, filed Wednesday in the New Orleans Civil District Court, is on behalf of an unnamed plaintiff alleging that Father John Asare-Dankwah abused him as a 10-year-old boy in 2008.
Asare most recently served as pastor at St. Peter Claver Parish in New Orleans.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was sexually assaulted during a church retreat in Alabama that Asare was supervising. In 2020, he attended his grandmother's funeral at St. Peter Claver, and upon seeing Asare leading the service had a flashback to his rape.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans was informed of the lawsuit after it was filed, and said there had been no previous allegations against Asare.
They say they have not been served with a copy of the lawsuit, in which the archdiocese has been named as a defendant, and had not been able to reach Asare to inform him of the allegations because he was in Ghana visiting family.
Thursday, Asare released a statement through a local law firm denying all of the allegations against him:
"I am deeply saddened and appalled by the allegations that I’ve just been made aware of. These allegations are false," he said in the statement. "I have never harmed anyone in my service to God - particularly any child - and I am prepared to fight vigorously to clear my name that I’ve worked for nearly three decades building trust as a man of God. The only time I have been to Alabama is to visit a friend; I have never been to the state in conjunction with any religious retreat.
I am deeply concerned for this young man and remain prayerful for he and his family. I know God is faithful and that the truth will prevail."
Davillier Law Group released the statement on behalf of Asare after speaking with him on the phone, but firm officials said they have not been engaged to represent him in the case.
The church announced Wednesday evening that an internal investigation would be carried out while Asare was on probation, and any findings would be conveyed to law enforcement.
The archdiocese has faced several allegations of sexual abuse and pedophilia allegations against clergy members over the past several years.
A list was released in 2017 containing the names of all priests associated with the archdiocese that had been credibly accused of sexual assault. But that list has been amended several times over the ensuing years, at least partially because of a series of WWL-TV investigations titled "Losing Faith."
The Archdiocese of New Orleans has filed for bankruptcy because of the financial toll from settlements to victims of clergy sexual abuse, but some say the bankruptcy is a way to avoid paying restitution to those seeking damages for their abuse at the hands of church officials.
More Stories:
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.
