A church in Louisiana has received backlash after urging prayer for its former pastor, who was convicted of sexually abusing parishioners, in a statement which failed to mention the victims.

The prayer request was published as part of a community bulletin at St Anthony of Padua church.

Anthony Odiong was handed three simultaneous life sentences this week, after being found guilty of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault.

One of his victims, who has chosen to remain anonymous, told the Guardian that her “honest response [to the bulletin] is sadness, not anger”.

Attorney Kristi Schubert, who represented another victim, said she was “profoundly disappointed” that the bulletin had not at minimum mentioned “something vague like ‘for survivors of clergy abuse’”.

St Anthony of Padua have now removed the bulletin, but said that it had been written based on prayer requests submitted to the church by congregants.

An archdiocesan spokesperson said the bulletin reflected the call to pray for “those who have turned away from God, to turn back towards His mercy”.

“While there is much pain in the [church] from all this, they are certainly praying for all who were hurt by Odiong’s actions, including primarily the women and their families,” the statement added.