A Louisiana man who resigned as a Roman Catholic deacon after a priest molested his son and then was excommunicated from the church entirely by his local bishop is asking global church leaders to inform him of the fate of his appeal against the prelate’s decision, something that was supposed to be resolved more than a year earlier.

In a letter to the Vatican entity in charge of clerical discipline, a canon – or church – law attorney representing Scott Peyton asserts that his case is “nuanced and requires careful consideration”. “To the extent that the delay reflects such diligence, he is grateful,” said the letter to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), prepared by Dawn Eden Goldstein on 3 February and obtained recently by the Guardian.

Nonetheless, the letter continued, Peyton “wishes that I convey to you that, from his perspective, the unduly long span of time with no communication from your office only compounds the injustices that he and his family have suffered from the church”.

Word of Peyton’s plight earned international news headlines in March 2024, with many outlets characterizing his excommunication as a remarkably harsh consequence that his child’s molester does not appear to have ever faced because the church, in sum, does not consider the abuser’s offense on its own excommunicable.

Peyton was ordained into Louisiana’s diocese of Lafayette – about 135 miles (217km) west of New Orleans – as a deacon in 2012. Deacons are largely similar to priests, though they can join the clergy despite being married.

About six years after his ordination, a priest with whom Peyton ministered at St Peter’s church in Morrow, Louisiana, confessed to molesting the deacon’s teenage son, Oliver, and was arrested by authorities.

Michael Guidry, now 83, later pleaded guilty to abusing Oliver Peyton, who was an altar server. He received a seven-year prison sentence after his church feted him with a farewell lunch for which the diocese was forced to apologize.

In 2021, Peyton said he, his wife, Letitia, and Oliver secured a $350,000 settlement from Lafayette’s diocese to settle a civil lawsuit without a trial. The Peytons, meanwhile, have become advocates for clergy abuse survivors. And in December 2023, Scott Peyton decided he was no longer a good fit to serve as a deacon in the diocese, quit and went on to join an Anglican church’s congregation.

Lafayette bishop J Douglas Deshotel responded to those developments by issuing a 13 March 2024 decree informing Peyton he had been excommunicated, effective immediately.

“I am aware that your family has suffered a trauma but the answer does not lie in leaving the Most Holy Eucharist,” Deshotel wrote, adding that “we are not Catholics because the church … is perfect”.

For pious Catholics, excommunication is as severe a punishment as there is, preventing recipients of it from engaging in certain sacraments as a way to essentially shock them into rethinking their sinful behavior before death condemns them to damnation. Among the most famous Catholic excommunicates are Henry VIII (over a divorce and remarriage), Napoleon Bonaparte (for annexing the Papal States within Italy to France) and Martin Luther (for igniting the Reformation).

Peyton formally appealed his excommunication to the DDF in May 2024, arguing in part that “there was no pastoral good to be accomplished” by his censure. He also contended that his wife and six children feel unwelcome in the Catholic church because of his excommunication, meaning the punishment has “harmed the spiritual lives of eight Catholics”.

That appeal ostensibly initiated an adjudication process that generally should be completed in three months.

Deshotel wrote to Peyton in October 2024 – five months later – notifying him that his appeal “material … has been received and is currently being evaluated” by the DDF. The bishop said he sent that letter at the behest of the DDF’s secretary, Archbishop John Joseph Kennedy.

It had been well over a year since that missive when Goldstein herself wrote to Kennedy in early February asking for at least an update concerning the status of her client’s appeal. She argued that the “harm” raised in Peyton’s appeal “continues every day that [it] goes unanswered”.

Goldstein also wrote to Kennedy asking him to inform Oliver Peyton of Guidry’s “current canonical status and any penalties that may have been imposed upon him” after the latter’s guilty plea.

Neither inquiry had gotten a reply as of Saturday.

Furthermore, neither a Lafayette diocese spokesperson nor Guidry’s criminal defense attorney immediately responded when sent a message asking whether he had been laicized, or removed from the priesthood.

Many Catholic clergymen convicted of child molestation over the years have been allowed to remain in the priesthood. Some abusers who have left the priesthood have done so voluntarily.

The late Francis was the pope when Peyton first filed his excommunication appeal. The pope now is Leo XIV, who was elected to succeed Francis in May 2025 and became history’s first US-born pontiff.

Another abusive Lafayette diocese priest named Gilbert Gauthe all but brought the worldwide, decades-old Catholic clergy abuse crisis to the US’s collective conscience by pleading guilty in 1985 to molesting several boys he met through his ministry.

More recently, Lafayette’s diocese unsuccessfully asked Louisiana’s supreme court to strike down a state law passed in 2021 which eliminated filing deadlines for lawsuits seeking damages over child molestation that occurred long ago.

The 2027 college football recruiting cycle has warmed up in the first months of the 2026 offseason.

A sizable number of prospects in the class of 2027 have already announced their college commitments. Most are still scouring around for their best options and taking visits to the schools that appeal to them.

One uncommitted prospect inching closer to his decision is running back Jayden Miles. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ranks as the No. 31 running back, No. 13 prospect in Louisiana and No. 391 overall prospect in the class of 2027, per Rivals.

Miles helped guide Baton Rouge Catholic High School to a 10-2 overall record and state semifinal appearance during his sophomore season. During his junior season, he set a school record by scoring seven total touchdowns in a single game. He was named to the LFCA All-State First Team and LSWA All-State Honorable Mention in 2025.

Miles took an important step in his recruitment by trimming his list of schools to choose from. Hayes Fawcett of Rivals reported that Miles’ list is now down to six schools on Thursday.

LSU

The drive from Baton Rouge Catholic High School to LSU’s campus is about 10 minutes. The Tigers offered Miles a scholarship in early February of 2025.

The Tigers did not sign any running backs from the 2026 recruiting cycle, although they were able to retain Caden Durham despite the coaching change. Stacy Gage (UCF), Dilin Jones (Wisconsin) and Rod Gainey Jr. (Charlotte) all joined LSU’s 2026 roster from the transfer portal.

Kentucky

The Wildcats are a newer development in Miles’ recruitment. Kentucky offered him a scholarship in early January, one of a myriad of offers Will Stein’s new staff has made since its arrival in Lexington.

Kentucky acquired running backs CJ Baxter (Texas) and Jovantae Barnes (Oklahoma) out of the transfer portal. The Wildcats signed three-star running back Delvecchio Alston II to their 2026 class.

Auburn

Miles received his offer from Auburn back in January of 2025. Like both LSU and Kentucky, Auburn has undergone a coaching change since the end of the 2025 regular season.

The Tigers did not sign a running back from the 2026 recruiting cycle. However, Auburn brought in transfer running backs Tae Meadows (Troy), Bryson Washington (Baylor) and Nykahi Davenport (USF) to restock the position group.

Ohio State

The Buckeyes are one of three programs outside of the SEC that Miles has expressed interest in. Ohio State is returning a 1,000-yard rusher in Bo Jackson, who enters his sophomore season of college football.

Ohio State brought in Florida transfer Ja’Kobi Jackson for added depth to its 2026 running back room. Four-star Legend Bey and three-star Favour Akih were the Buckeyes’ two running back signees in the 2026 recruiting cycle.

Florida State

The Seminoles were the first program to offer Miles back in May of 2024. He attended a camp at Florida State in June of 2024.

Quintrevion Wisner (Texas) and Gemari Sands (Florida Atlantic) both joined the Seminoles via the portal in the 2026 offseason. Florida State signed three-star running back Amari Thomas in the 2026 recruiting cycle.

Texas Tech

The Red Raiders are the lone Big 12 program Miles is showing interest in. Texas Tech is coming off a season in which it made its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.

Texas Tech returns a 1000-yard rusher from a season ago to its offense in Cameron Dickey. The Red Raiders did not bring in a running back in their 20-man portal class, but they did sign three-star Ashton Rowden in the 2026 recruiting cycle.

Spring is a time of warmer weather, blooming flowers and when trees regain their leafy branches.

During this time, many Louisiana residents will likely begin landscaping projects, like shaping up the trees and bushes on their property.

Although, if a neighbor’s tree or bush limbs reach over to your property, are you allowed to trim them?

You can trim branches from neighbor’s trees in Louisiana if they cross onto your property

When it comes to tree branches or roots, bushes or plants on a neighboring property, landowners have the right to demand that anything extending over or into their property be trimmed.

This means if a neighbor’s trees, bushes or plants encroach onto someone else’s property, the branches or limbs may be trimmed at the expense of that neighbor.

However, landowners do not have the right to demand such if the neighbor’s roots or branches do not interfere with the enjoyment of the landowner’s property, according to Louisiana State Legislature.

If a neighbor refuses to cut or trim trees or bushes that reach over onto your property, then you may be permitted to cut or trim them yourself.

However, you could be held liable for property damage if you cut or trim parts of a tree or bush that are still on your neighbor’s property without their permission, says Bayou Tree Service. If a neighbor’s tree or plant dies as a result of you cutting or trimming a portion, this could also make you liable for property damage.

Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com