The goal of this petition is to get the Diocese of Lafayette to take action against the egregious statements made by Father Metrejean of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. In response to a Facebook post made by the New Orleans Saints in support of Gay Pride month, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church shared the following:

“Come on NOLA Saints. We want to support you. But this kinda stunt hurts society and souls. Don’t bow down to these pressure groups. Kids have rights. Children deserve to have a dad and mom. Plz don’t support immorality. Cancel the PC Culture.”

Many residents and parishioners expressed that this kind of rhetoric is detrimental to the LGBTQIA community and it did not reflect their thoughts and feelings. After the story was shared by a local news outlet and a statement was made by the Bishop urging “respect, compassion, and sensitivity” toward the LGBTQIA community, the Church issued an audio response and the post was taken down. The response https://vimeo.com/434207312 did not offer an apology or anything resembling contrition. It doubled down on the initial post and took a defensive stance towards those who criticized the Church for their message.

In addition to the anti-LGBTQIA statements made, it was brought to my attention that Father Metrejean has also expressed racist sentiments. A resident shared details from a phone conversation she had with Father Metrejean regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. She contacted Father Metrejean to request that he urge parishioners to wear masks when in public and practice social distancing. In response to her plea, Father Metrejean stated “This is not really something we need to worry about since the virus only affects Black people.” The implications of the statement are wildly offensive and racist. It devalues the lives of Black people and displays an insidious racist mindset that has no business in the church or society at large.

These anti-LGBTQIA and anti-Black statements made by Father Metrejean warrant his removal from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. 

Please sign this petition and demand that Bishop Deshotel take immediate action for the Erath community and for the betterment of all parishes of the Diocese of Lafayette.