The New Orleans Saints went above and beyond to help the local Catholic Church as it dealt with a child sex abuse scandal, according to a series of emails released Monday.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans was engulfed in scandal as it shared a list of priests credibly accused of abuse in November 2018, but it received unsolicited public relations help from Saints communication executive Greg Bensel and team owner Gayle Benson, according to the emails.
At one point, Bensel even wrote to Saints President Dennis Lauscha that he was part of a conference call that “allowed us to take certain people off” the list. It’s unclear if anyone with the Saints used that supposed authority.
The Saints’ work with the archdiocese was partly known since 2020, when they were mentioned in a class-action lawsuit by several abuse victims against the church. At the time, the team claimed its involvement was minimal, but it still fought strongly in court to keep the emails from the public light.
Monday’s disclosure revealed that Bensel reached out to the church on his own after a 2018 article detailing a priest’s alleged rape of an 8-year-old boy.
“We have been through enough at Saints to be a help or sounding board,” Bensel wrote, “but I don’t want to overstep!”
In the ensuing months, the Saints and the archdiocese worked hand-in-hand, perhaps unsurprising given the close relationship between the team’s owner, Benson, and Archbishop Gregory Aymond.
At one point, Lauscha drafted talking points for the archbishop, while Bensel encouraged the local media to support Aymond as he answered questions about the sexual abuse and the church’s decades-long cover-up.
Following the list’s release, hundreds of people sued the Archdiocese of New Orleans, leading to its bankruptcy. Aymond, who has been archbishop since 2009, remains its leader.