New Orleans Saints did free crisis PR work for Catholic Church over child sex abuse

The New Orleans Saints went supra and beyond to help the section Catholic Church arsenic it dealt with a kid enactment maltreatment scandal, according to a bid of emails released Monday.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans was engulfed successful ungraded arsenic it shared a database of priests credibly accused of abuse successful November 2018, but it received unsolicited nationalist relations assistance from Saints connection enforcement Greg Bensel and squad proprietor Gayle Benson, according to the emails.

At 1 point, Bensel adjacent wrote to Saints President Dennis Lauscha that helium was part of a league telephone that “allowed america to instrumentality definite radical off” the list. It’s unclear if anyone with the Saints utilized that expected authority.

The Saints’ enactment with the archdiocese was partially known since 2020, erstwhile they were mentioned successful a class-action suit by respective maltreatment victims against the church. At the time, the squad claimed its engagement was minimal, but it inactive fought powerfully successful tribunal to support the emails from the nationalist light.

Monday’s disclosure revealed that Bensel reached retired to the religion connected his ain aft a 2018 nonfiction detailing a priest’s alleged rape of an 8-year-old boy.

“We person been done capable astatine Saints to beryllium a assistance oregon sounding board,” Bensel wrote, “but I don’t privation to overstep!”

In the ensuing months, the Saints and the archdiocese worked hand-in-hand, possibly unsurprising fixed the close narration betwixt the team’s owner, Benson, and Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

At 1 point, Lauscha drafted talking points for the archbishop, portion Bensel encouraged the section media to enactment Aymond arsenic helium answered questions astir the intersexual maltreatment and the church’s decades-long cover-up.

Following the list’s release, hundreds of radical sued the Archdiocese of New Orleans, leading to its bankruptcy. Aymond, who has been archbishop since 2009, remains its leader.

With News Wire Services