The archbishop of New Orleans’ Catholic Church denies he ousted top leadership at a church-affiliated food bank in Louisiana for refusing to redirect tens of millions of dollars to support clergy sexual abuse settlements, in keeping with a video statement he published this week.
Two fired board members have issued statements saying they were removed last week by Archbishop Gregory Aymond of the Archdiocese of New Orleans after resisting pressure to channel as much as $16 million to support the church’s long-running bankruptcy negotiations with lots of of sexual abuse survivors.
The Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana says that it provides upwards of 39 million kilos of food and groceries to lots of of 1000’s of families across South Louisiana annually.
CEO Natalie Jayroe, who led the organization for 19 years before being fired, “resolutely refused to reallocate donor funds which might be solely intended to assist alleviate hunger and food insecurity in south Louisiana,” in keeping with a Jan. 30 statement by dismissed board chair Bert Wilson issued via a public relations firm.
Jayroe didn’t reply to a request for comment sent via LinkedIn Wednesday.
Wilson expressed “tremendous sympathy” for survivors of clergy abuse but said that taking money from the food bank could be “as morally inappropriate because it is legally unsubstantiated,” based on agreements with donors.
Aymond said he rejected “the characterizations of the archdiocese as stealing money from the hungry” in a video posted on his Facebook page Monday.
Aymond said members of the Second Harvest board had repeatedly asked him to withdraw from his position overseeing the nonprofit. The archbishop has the only real power to remove Second Harvest executives and board members, in keeping with the nonprofit’s articles of incorporation, viewed by The Associated Press.
The $16 million was “discussed in theory and conversation” as a way for Second Harvest to buy assets owned by the church and “completely separate itself,” Aymond said.
He said the choice to remove the CEO and board members was made because they refused to sign a “tolling agreement” that shielded third-party entities affiliated with the Catholic Church from liability through the bankruptcy negotiations, adding that the deadline to sign was Jan. 31.
In response to Aymond’s video, fired board member Nick Karl contended the deadline to sign, set by a court, was actually May 1 and that the Second Harvest executive team had been within the strategy of reviewing it.
“That the Archdiocese jumped the gun by terminating three longtime board members and the non-profit’s CEO speaks volumes regarding their motivations,” Karl said.
He said the archbishop made no commitment against drawing on Second Harvest funds to assist settle the church’s bankruptcy claims in the long run.
Aymond appointed Dirk Wild, the archdiocese’s chief financial officer, as interim CEO and named three latest board members. Second Harvest’s priority is to “ensure day-to-day operations will remain on schedule and services will proceed uninterrupted,” Aymond and Wild said in a joint statement released last week.
Wild didn’t reply to text messages or phone calls requesting comment Wednesday. Archdiocese of New Orleans Communications Director Sarah McDonald declined to comment.
“No dollars have and no dollars will go towards anything…aside from food security,” Second Harvest Chief Strategy Officer John Sillars said. He said the nonprofit is searching for to reassure donors that their projects will proceed as planned.
Second Harvest donor Feeding America said in an announcement that it was essential to honor commitments to make sure “resources are used for his or her intended purposes.”
James Adams, a survivor of clergy abuse who has sued the archdiocese, said Aymond could “easily remove” the food bank from his control and permit the nonprofit to hold on its work unimpeded.
“The survivors just want this matter settled,” Adams said of the abuse lawsuits. “The archdiocese is leaving their creditors with no alternative in the event that they want to try and are available to a settlement but to go to all of the assets which might be under the control of the archbishop.”
Aymond has rebuffed calls by survivors of abuse to resign because the New Orleans church has faced federal investigations and scrutiny over its failure to take motion on credible allegations against priests going back a long time. An investigation by The Associated Press also exposed the role of executives with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints in helping the church engage in damage control.
The church has sold greater than $13 million price of properties because it raises funds to pay survivors, Nola.com reported in December.
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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96.
