Photo provided courtesy of Pixaby.com
By Matt Minard, Staff Writer
The New Orleans Saints football organization has been accused of conferring with the New Orleans Roman Catholic Archdiocese during the course of initial fallout from a sexual abuse scandal. [1] The organization claims it was only “messaging” and handling media inquiries as part of the 2018 release of the clergy names. [2] However, in light of almost two dozen new sexual abuse claims being filed against the Archdiocese this week, attorneys for the alleged victims are now claiming the Saints had a hand in determining which clergy members to place or keep off of a “pedophile list” within the Archdiocese. [3] This “pedophile list” allegedly contains names of 63 clergy members in the New Orleans area who were suspected of sexual abuse during the 20th century. [4]
The claims are being brought under a massive negligence and fraud law suit against the Archdiocese in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, naming 57 clergy members as alleged offenders. [5] The Saints organization has not been named as a party to the lawsuit or accused in the mismanagement of clergy members. [6] The organization is, however, implicated throughout the litigation because its advisors allegedly assisted the Archdiocese with handling media relations throughout the situation. [7] Specifically, the victims’ attorneys allege Saints owner Gayle Benson, along with other senior officials, advised Archbishop Gregory Aymond and other clergy on several occasions. [8]
The victims’ attorneys are claiming that what began as a “public relations campaign would later “evolve into something much more.” [9] In their allegations, the attorneys maintain that the Saints knew of the specific allegations of sexual abuse against a priest, had supporting documentation of the alleged abuse, and made judgement calls on whether allegations against a particular priest warranted placing them on the internal “pedophile list”. [10] The Saints responded, claiming the organization “never advised to conceal information” and claims that the team in fact advised the Archdiocese to bring a specific name to the proper authorities as credible allegations against that clergy member came to light. [11]
In 2019, the Saints received subpoenas for texts, emails, and all other communications between the organization and the Archdiocese. [12] The team identified 305 relevant documents and withheld 276, claiming they were confidential. [13] The victims’ attorneys are attempting to gain access to these withheld documents and are demanding they be turned over on the grounds that they are relevant to the claims of the case. [14]
On January 24, 2020, the Saints released a statement saying they have no interest in concealing information from the press or public. [15] The statement says they are not “withholding” documents from the public but simply want the court to apply normal rules of discovery to the documents they have already turned over. [16] The team claims that until those documents are admitted as evidence at a trial, the use of any relevant documents should be restricted to the parties and their attorneys. [17] The statement notes that, regardless, any documents found relevant and admitted at trial will be public record anyway. [18] If the case makes it to trial, Saints officials could potentially be used as witnesses. [19]
[1] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/new-orleans-saints-accused-of-helping-shape-clergy-sex-abuse-list
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/01/31/saints-new-orleans-archdiocese-sexual-abuse-case
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/new-orleans-saints-accused-of-helping-shape-clergy-sex-abuse-list
[11] Id.
[12] https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/01/31/saints-new-orleans-archdiocese-sexual-abuse-case
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/saints-catholic-church-scandal-new-orleans-allegations-explained/1ftfs6334v4ii1i3ury5dqwag1
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/01/31/saints-new-orleans-archdiocese-sexual-abuse-case
