Aymond, who is close with Benson, was advised by the team to be open and transparent with the scandalGETTY IMAGES
The Saints said that they are "fighting the release" of emails that allegedly show team execs helping the Archdiocese of New Orleans shape its messaging on the church's clerical sex abuse crisis because it is "standard for such documents to remain confidential until they have been admitted as evidence at a trial," according to Ramon Antonio Vargas of the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. The Saints said the still-unreleased emails show club officials advised Archbishop Gregory Aymond -- one of Saints Owner Gayle Benson's closest friends -- to "be direct, open and transparent" in the November '18 release of a list of local clergymen who had been credibly accused of molesting minors. Attorneys for the plaintiff in the sex-abuse case "insisted that the emails -- if seen by the public -- would expose the beloved team's executives as abetting a cover-up." In their own court filings, attorneys for the Saints have "denied that they helped the church cover up crimes." The Saints said that team execs "merely offered counsel on how best to publish a list of 55 priests and two deacons accused of abuse." According to the Saints, their organization became involved in advising the archdiocese after the church "reached out to a number of community and civic minded leaders seeking counsel on handling the pending media attention that would come with the release" of the abusive clergy roster. A court-appointed special master is "set to hear arguments in the coming weeks" on whether the communications between the Saints execs and the archdiocese "should remain out of public view" (NOLA.com, 1/24).
