Wolves Among the Sheep > Is Old Apostolic Lutheran Church mishandling forgiveness doctrine? Priest trainee pleads guilty to CSAM in MS

 

In This Church, Sex Abuse Survivors Are Asked to Forgive

ProPublica examines the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, with silenced survivors for decades

By Jenn Gidman withNewser.AI Posted Jun 7, 2026 3:20 PM CDT

Stock photo.   (Getty Images/Miropa)

One church's teaching that sins can be forgiven and forgotten is being tested by a growing trail of child sex-abuse cases stretching across the US and Canada. ProPublica and the Minnesota Star Tribune report that members of the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, a small Laestadian denomination, describe decades of abuse handled inside the church, not by police. In one family documented in the piece, survivors of such abuse stretch across three generations. Those who've lived through it say a strict "doctrine of forgiveness" has been used to pressure victims into silence and reconciliation with abusers, with any who keep speaking out labeled spiritually deficient. "We're always told that what the preachers tell us, that's coming from God," notes one woman who said she was silenced by OALC members after her own abuse. "Who's going to argue with that?"

Reporters document at least eight criminal cases and interviews with 20 alleged victims, plus parents of children as young as 3, in such places as Wyoming, Minnesota, and Washington state. Prosecutors say the church's tight, far-flung networks make patterns hard to break. Church leaders in both North America and Sweden deny any systemic problem but concede some cases may have been mishandled and say policies are under review. They also don't think there's anything wrong with their push for forgiveness, "saying it was not a means to conceal wrongdoing or to shield offenders from legal consequences," per ProPublica. "No one is coerced to forgive or to ask for forgiveness. If those teachings had been misapplied or misunderstood in some cases, they said, it 'does not reflect an error in our doctrine.'" Swedish elders are set to visit this summer as legal scrutiny intensifies. More here.

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'Upsetting': MS residents react after ex-priest trainee pleads guilty to child sex crime

NESBIT, Miss. — Nesbit, Mississippi, residents are reacting after a former De Soto County priest-in-training pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child exploitation material.

Johnathan Tu Nguyen-Vuong could face a minimum of five to forty years in prison when he’s sentenced in August. His charges stem from a July 2025 investigation.

Former priest-in-training pleads guilty to child sex crime

Johnathan Nguyen-Vuong Courtesy of DeSoto County Jail

At the time of his arrest, Nguyen-Vuong was living at St. Michael’s Community House in Nesbit, where investigators found his computer in the process of uploading and downloading child sexual abuse material.

“It is really sad. It is heartbreaking. It’s upsetting, very upsetting,” said Krista Dornier, Principal of Ambleside School.

Dornier is the principal of Ambleside School, a private Christian school, located in Nesbit, sitting about a hundred yards from where investigators made the discovery.

Priest-in-training accused of possessing child porn

“When I was contacted by our local County Supervisor,it was definitely concerning to know that any child predator would be in the vicinity, a place near our school where we have children,” said Dornier.

It’s where Nguyen-Vuong, a former priest-in-training, had been living, accused of possessing child porn.

“The only detail I knew is that he had been accessing child pornographic material online,” said Dornier.

Nguyen-Vuong was arrested at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Olive Branch, serving as a religious educator during an investigation in 2025 involving the transmission of child sexual abuse material over the internet.

The DA’s office says Nguyen-Vuong had been working at a summer camp with children.

“He’s going down the wrong road, I think. I’m glad they got him now instead of letting it go on for years and years and years,” said Mickey Garrett, Nesbit, MS.

“I’m grateful that we have individuals that are willing to stand up for children,” said Dornier.

Investigators have contacted parents of children who had been around Nguyen-Vuong to ensure their safety and determine if there are other victims.

We’re told the religious community associated with St. Michael’s community house gave full cooperation to investigators.

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