More fallout from the Catholic clergy sex abuse tragedy hits New Orleans

 

I'm not sure how far the news has spread, but the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans is involved in a fairly significant scandal concerning one of its associated ministries, Second Harvest Food Bank.  Here's a summary from Grok AI, X.com's artificial intelligence system, compiled from several news and commentary sites on the Web.  It seems accurate to me, according to the information at my disposal.

The dispute between New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond and Second Harvest Food Bank centers on a clash over money and control, escalating tensions between the two entities, which had been partners in fighting hunger for over 40 years. The conflict erupted when Aymond, leveraging his authority as the "sole member" under Second Harvest’s bylaws, fired longtime CEO Natalie Jayroe and several board members in late January 2025, replacing them with the archdiocese’s chief financial officer, Dirk Wild, as interim CEO. This dramatic move sparked widespread controversy and allegations about the archdiocese’s intentions.

The core issue stems from claims by the ousted leaders—backed by statements from former board chair Bert Wilson and others—that the archdiocese pressured Second Harvest to contribute up to $16 million to help fund its ongoing bankruptcy, initiated in 2020 to address over 500 clergy sexual abuse claims. These leaders argued that reallocating donor funds, intended solely for combating food insecurity across 23 Louisiana parishes, would violate legal agreements with major donors like Feeding America and the MacKenzie Scott Foundation, which prohibit non-secular expenditures. Second Harvest’s 2024 audit revealed $89 million in net assets, including $32 million in investments, but the former leadership insisted these resources were restricted for feeding the hungry, not settling church liabilities unrelated to the food bank’s mission.

Archbishop Aymond has denied that donor funds were ever used or intended for the bankruptcy, asserting in a February 3, 2025, video statement that “not a single dollar” from Second Harvest donations has gone to anything but its mission. He framed the $16 million figure as a theoretical discussion about Second Harvest buying its independence from the archdiocese, not a direct demand. Aymond also justified the firings by claiming the ousted leaders refused to sign a tolling agreement—meant to shield church affiliates from lawsuits during bankruptcy negotiations—potentially exposing Second Harvest to legal risk. However, former board member Nick Karl disputed this, noting the court-set deadline for the agreement was May 1, not January 31 as Aymond suggested, and that negotiations were ongoing.

The fallout has been intense. Community outrage, reflected in petitions and donor backlash, accuses Aymond of jeopardizing Second Harvest’s integrity and operations, with some, like major donor Morris Bart, threatening legal action to reclaim contributions if funds are diverted. Aymond’s quiet amendment to Second Harvest’s articles of incorporation on January 29, expanding his power to fire leadership “without cause,” further fueled perceptions of a power grab. Meanwhile, a committee is exploring a potential separation of Second Harvest from the archdiocese, though details—like whether it involves the $16 million—remain unclear as of February 27, 2025. The dispute highlights broader tensions between the church’s financial pressures and the food bank’s secular mission, leaving its future uncertain.

This is a tragedy for the food bank, and is likely to further damage the Catholic Church in New Orleans as well.  I don't know exactly why the Archbishop was exerting pressure on Second Harvest to make at least some of its reserves available to the Archdiocese, but I have little doubt that the latter's declaration of bankruptcy in the face of hundreds of claims from child sex abuse survivors is at the root of it.  I've spoken with a couple of clergy acquaintances in the Archdiocese, and they feel the same way about it.  In so many words, the Archdiocese appears desperate for money to pay the claims against it and get back to normal operations, and the reserves of the food bank were probably an irresistible target, given that it's nominally (legally) part of the Archdiocese, although its operations are secular and have (until now) been completely separate from religious affairs.  The Archbishop's most recent statement on the affair appears to sidestep such issues.  Dare one say it's just another case of "follow the money"?

This is yet another example of how the Catholic Church in America has inflicted long-term damage upon itself.  If only the bishops had, way back in the post-World-War-II era, insisted upon orthodoxy of faith, and imposed strict discipline upon the selection of candidates for the priesthood and their education in seminaries, the problem would have been far smaller and more manageable.  (It can never be eradicated completely, unfortunately, because human beings remain sinners, and one can't detect all of them in time to stop the damage from their sins.  Inevitably, some will slip through the screening - but in this case, the entire screening process appears to have become infected by the very sins - and sinners - it was supposed to detect and exclude.)  Since that was not done, the damage incurred was vastly greater, and it continues to have repercussions to this day.  Furthermore, a number of those who became clergy during the "evil years" are still in office, and continue to do damage (just look at the isolated, but well-publicized cases of priest abusers that continue to be unmasked to this day).  One might go so far as to say that the Catholic Church has abdicated its moral authority, to such an extent that it no longer possesses any in the eyes of much of the world.

I fear that, no matter how this issue is ultimately resolved, it will further damage the Catholic Church in the eyes of many of the faithful.  I know that a very large proportion of Catholics have stopped donating to the Church, because of unease about how their donations will be used, and I expect that problem will grow exponentially worse in southern Louisiana after this news.  I could wish with all my heart that the Archdiocese had left the food bank severely alone, and not tried to change anything . . . but the allure of millions of dollars in donations and reserves was probably irresistible, given the Archdiocese's bankruptcy declaration.  Sadly, the food bank is now likely to lose support from outside, non-Catholic sources who were happy to support secular food aid, but are not willing (or, in some cases, legally able) to support a religious enterprise.  That's going to directly impact up to about four hundred thousand people who depend on the food bank on a more or less regular basis.

I hope something can be done to compensate those dismissed by the Archbishop because they would not conform to his views.  They've contributed decades of their lives to their work, and to be summarily fired for reasons totally unrelated to the food bank's primary operations must have been a terrible blow.  Do they have pensions?  If they have suffered financial loss or hardship, will the Church make good those costs?  So far, nobody is talking about any of that.

What a mess . . . and the only winner might be said to be the devil himself.

Peter