ChrisXVI

https://apnews.com/8a88d4d188c04751d9731a49081d5d3c

The New Orleans Saints are going to court to keep the public from seeing hundreds of emails that allegedly show team executives doing public relations damage control for the area’s Roman Catholic archdiocese to help it contain the fallout from a burgeoning sexual abuse crisis.

Attorneys for about two dozen men suing the church say in court filings that the 276 documents they obtained through discovery show that the NFL team, whose owner is devoutly Catholic, aided the Archdiocese of New Orleans in its “pattern and practice of concealing its crimes.”

So... it’s being alleged that the Saints organization has helped church officials handle accusations of sexual abuse. This could be a very strange situation.

"When you get into one of these groups, there's only a couple of ways you can get out. One, is death; the other, is mental institutions."

jeanpierre

Wonder who was the mastermind behind this at Saints HQ?

RefsRobbedUs

Here we go. Another excuse for Goodell to take away a pick.

I was so confused by the headline with the Saints aiding the Catholics that I had to double check it was an espn alert

neugey

I have plenty of sympathy for the ultimate victims, but TBH this seems like a bit of a shakedown.

NOLA54

How disgusting to help the catholic church hide their crimes!

ChrisXVI

There’s a lot to unpack here still. It could just be public relations advice... in which case it’s inappropriate but not nefarious. I’m optimistic there’s nothing about cover-ups.

skymike

This is an awfully random charge, and obviously has a purpose.

AP's cred with me, is just below The Enquirer.

vpheughan

From a 2011 article :Wish you were here: the Church, the Red Cross and the Nazis' great escape

ROBERT GERWARTH

In his new book, Nazis on the Run, the Austrian historian Gerald Steinacher deconstructs this version of events. After six years of intensive research on the subject, Steinacher concludes that ODESSA never really existed as a centrally organised network. Instead, he offers a detailed and chilling analysis of the three organisations that were in fact largely responsible for facilitating the escape of German war criminals: the International Red Cross, the Catholic Church, and the American CIA. Steinacher emphasises from the start that the motivations of this unlikely coalition of escape route facilitators can only be understood against the backdrop of the start of the Cold War, during which Communism seemed a much more pressing problem than prosecuting former Nazis, however implicated they were in the Holocaust.

AsylumGuido

Statement from the New Orleans Saints

While there is current litigation relative to the New Orleans Archdiocese and clergy sex abuse, our comments are limited only to the scope of our involvement. The New Orleans Saints organization has always had a very strong relationship with the Archdiocese. The Archdiocese 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 clergy names in November of 2018. Greg Bensel, Senior Vice President of Communications for the New Orleans Saints, was contacted and offered input on how to work with the media. The advice was simple and never wavering. Be direct, open and fully transparent, while making sure that all law enforcement agencies were alerted. The New Orleans Saints, Greg Bensel and Mrs. Gayle Benson were and remain offended, disappointed and repulsed by the actions of certain past clergy. We remain steadfast in support of the victims who have suffered and pray for their continued healing.

Further, the Saints have no interest in concealing information from the press or public. At the current discovery stage in the case of Doe v. Archdiocese, the Saints, through their counsel, have merely requested the court to apply the normal rules of civil discovery to the documents that the Saints produced and delivered to Mr. Doe's counsel. Until the documents are admitted into evidence at a public trial or hearing in the context of relevant testimony by persons having knowledge of the documents and the events to which they pertain, the use of the documents should be limited to the parties to the case and their attorneys. If admitted into evidence of the case, the documents and the testimony pertaining to them will become part of the public record of the trial of the case.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill

JayFoster

This is real simple:

Child Molester/People Helping Child Molester Cover Up Crimes: Jay, can you help us?

Me: No.

Anything other than that is absolutely stupid and disgusting. Think about if this was your kid they were helping this sick priest and the Church with pr with. How would you feel?