Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, made a public statement Monday about her relationship with the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
In the press release, Benson responded to recent allegations about her sports franchise’s involvement in the Archdiocese’s clergy abuse scandal.
Following interview requests by the Associated Press, Benson decided to go public to negate claims that the football organization had influence over the church’s list of “credibly accused” pedophile priests.
While Benson acknowledged that Greg Bensel, the Saint’s Vice President of communications, did assist the church with media surrounding the release of names, she said Bensel urged full transparency.
The Saints' owner also denied claims that she and her late husband, Tom Benson, donated money to the church to fund victim payouts.
Benson professed her devout Catholicism and said she was compelled to assist the Archdiocese because she was sickened by the molestation claims and wanted to help the church heal.
“We are proud of the role we played and yes, in hindsight, we would help again to assist the Archdiocese,” said Benson.
Gayle Benson’s statement is available on the New Orleans Saints’ website.