The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas released in January a list of forty priests "credibly accused" of abusing children since 1950. Upon that list of names was Rev. Joseph G. Leduc.
Riverside City College Professor Jo Scott-Coe spent the past six years tracking Leduc's life and "its strange intersection with the story of the 1996 shooting at the University of Texas at Austin." Jo, who writes she is a Catholic by tradition and education, said she could not let go of the nagging feeling that Leduc had more to him other than just being a scoutmaster, friend, and confidant to a mass shooter.
As a man who was connected to one of the most iconographic mass murders in American history and then was revealed as a predator to kids among his fellow priests, Leduc became quite the object of interest for Jo Scott-Coe.
Jo wrote a book titled, “MASS: A Sniper, a Father, and a Priest”- which traces a "wary portrait of Leduc as gleaned over six years of research, including primary documents and interviews, photographs and archives."
"I studied the secondary record intensely and foraged through newspaper reports, Catholic directories, military records, and genealogy resources. I visited homes and churches, libraries, schools, and seminaries in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, and Texas. I delved into the research of experts on Catholic history, culture, theology, and the priesthood to develop clearer insights and context for what I discovered," Jo said in reference to her book.
Jo will join the show today at 4:00 with more on her book and the explosive controversy and mystery surrounding Rev. Jospeh G. Leduc.
Photo: joscottcoe.com