Saints and Archdiocese Scandal Revealed in Emails
High-level executives with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints football team and the NBA’s Pelicans basketball team were found to have deeper involvement in the scandal involving a list of priests and deacons accused of child molestation while working with the city’s Roman Catholic archdiocese. Subsequently, emails obtained by the Guardian and WWL Louisiana shed light on the extensive connections between the sports franchises and the church.
The emails revealed how top executives tried to minimize a public-relations nightmare for the archdiocese, leading to a full-blown child sex-trafficking investigation aimed at the church by law enforcement. The emails highlighted a close relationship between the sports franchises and the Catholic church, including Archbishop Gregory Aymond.
One executive described a conversation with the New Orleans district attorney which allowed them to remove certain clergy names from the abuse list. However, both the Saints and the DA deny that any conversations took place to influence the list. The emails also outlined the involvement of the sports teams’ leaders in handling the church’s most severe scandal.
The revelations in the emails prompted protests by clergy-abuse survivors and generated widespread media investigations. The Saints’ officials denied any wrongdoing, stating that they had only provided public relations assistance to the archdiocese. Despite the controversy, the sports franchises continued to show support for the church and its efforts to address the abuse crisis.
As the scandal unfolded, new developments emerged, including charges against a priest and the archdiocese filing for bankruptcy. The emails remained hidden until they were leaked to the press, sparking a public outcry and further scrutiny of the relationship between the Saints and the archdiocese.
Efforts to secure the emails faced challenges due to legal proceedings, confidentiality orders, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, journalists managed to obtain and expose the contents of the emails, bringing to light the extent of the scandal and the involvement of the sports franchises in the church’s crisis.
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