Saints executives allegedly helped the Catholic Church with its public relations efforts and “messaging” related to a recent sexual abuse crisis, according to an Associated Press report.
Attorneys for about two dozen men suing the Archdiocese of New Orleans claim that emails found through the lawsuit’s discovery show that the Saints aided the archdiocese in a “pattern and practice of concealing its crimes.”
“Obviously, the Saints should not be in the business of assisting the Archdiocese, and the Saints’ public relations team is not in the business of managing the public relations of criminals engaged in pedophilia,” the attorneys wrote in a court filing. “The Saints realize that if the documents at issue are made public, this professional sports organization also will be smearing itself.”
Below is a summary of the Saints’ alleged role in the scandal and what may come next for the franchise.
In November 2018, New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond released a list of 57 clergy members who were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors across multiple decades. Many members served as priests or worked in some capacity at local high schools when they allegedly preyed on children and young adults, per NOLA.com.
The discovery in the case involving the Saints stems from a lawsuit against George Brignac, who was removed from ministry in 1988 after being accused of fondling a 7-year-old boy at a Christmas party. Despite multiple sexual abuse allegations, Brignac still held leadership roles and had access to schoolchildren as late as 2018, according to a separate AP report. His name was included in the list released by Aymond.
What are the allegations against the Saints?
Attorneys claim Saints executives, including senior vice president of communications Greg Bensel, used team email accounts to advise the archdiocese on how to handle the release of a list of clergy members who were “credibly accused” of sexual abuse.
“The information at issue bears a relationship to these crimes because it is a continuation of the Archdiocese’s pattern and practice of concealing its crimes so that the public does not discover its criminal behavior,” the attorneys for the men wrote. “And the Saints joined in.”
In an October 2018 email exchange revealed by the AP report, Bensel asked an archdiocese spokeswoman if there would be “a benefit to saying we support a victim’s right to pursue a remedy through the courts.” Sarah McDonald, the archdiocese’s communications director, responded: “I don’t think we want to say ‘support’ victims going to the courts, but we certainly encourage them to come forward.”
Attorneys for the Saints disputed any claims that the organization had helped the archdiocese conceal crimes and argued the emails should not be “fodder for the public.” The archdiocese is also looking to prevent the release of the emails.
