![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-300x200.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
Donald Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance and Kamala Harris’ vice presidential selection Tim Walz, who will debate each other on Tuesday.
Vance and Walz represent contrasting visions of masculinity in an election that is dividing American men and women more than ever.
Vance, the Republican candidate, has a conservative understanding of family.
The Ohio senator has been chastised for disparaging “childless cat ladies,” who, he claims, have no “direct interest” in the welfare of the country since they do not have children.
As a former soldier from a lower-income household, Vance sees himself as a voice for the oppressed Americans among whom he grew up.
Vance, who strongly opposes abortion, also criticises modern family values, which he believes encourage ‘people to swap partners like they change their pants’.
On the other hand, Democrat Tim Walz seeks to create a different image of the good family man—one who is not afraid to display a more vulnerable side of himself, such as when discussing his reproductive issues with his wife Gwen.
“I can remember praying each night for a phone call,” he recounted at the Democratic National Convention.
“The pit in your stomach when the phone would ring, and the absolute agony when we heard the treatments hadn’t worked.”
The Minnesota governor, a former teacher, typically recounts how he helped establish the first LGBTQ student organisation at the high school where he taught, long before homosexual rights were widely accepted.
Walz, who previously coached high school football and served in the National Guard for 24 years, continues to embody the conventional masculine archetype, whether he’s talking about his favourite hardware shop on TikTok or brags about his hunting prowess.
In relation to Vance, for example, Walz stated, “I guarantee you he can’t shoot pheasants like I can.”
“The Harris campaign is offering alternatives to the ‘toxic masculinity’ that has captured the Republican party,” said Karrin Vasby Anderson, a communications studies professor at Colorado State University.
Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband, passionately supports his wife and has no issue making himself the target of jokes, such as when he relates the uncomfortable voicemail he left her after their first date.
The posturing is a long cry from Donald Trump’s “macho man” approach, which he invokes by opening his rallies with the Village People’s popular song of the same name.
Anderson opines that societal gains by women and people of colour have “required white men to make adjustments to how they speak, what jokes they tell, how they comport themselves in romantic relationships, and how they conduct themselves at work.”
“Some men don’t like having to change,” she added.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
