‘Disgusting’: New Orleans archbishop condemned over food bank firings
The way that the archbishop of New Orleans’ Roman Catholic archdiocese fired leaders at a church-affiliated food bank Thursday has angered many congregants of the bankrupt organization.
A statement released on behalf of some of the ousted leaders said they had been removed for refusing to send the archdiocese up to $16m to pay settlements for child molestation committed by Catholic clergy.
Like so many others in the community, retired political strategist Sidney Arroyo said he was livid when he heard the news. He said he had worked closely with Jayroe and others at Second Harvest to help raise $15m for the food bank over the years.
“And this is what the archbishop wants to dip into as a money pot for the pedophile priests? I think that’s not only unacceptable, I think it’s disgusting.”
Arroyo says Second Harvest is bound by contracts with its major donors, such as Feeding America and the MacKenzie Scott foundation, which recently awarded the food bank $25m. He said that money could be in jeopardy if it is used for paying abuse settlements.
James Adams knows a thing or two about serving on a non-profit board controlled by the archbishop. He was president of the Catholic Community Foundation – the New Orleans archdiocese’s fundraising arm – until 2020, when he said he was pressured to step down shortly after he filed a lawsuit alleging a priest sexually abused him as a child.
He went on to represent fellow abuse survivors in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case. He says none of the 500 molestation claims filed in that case have anything to do with Second Harvest, so he always found it strange that the archdiocese listed Second Harvest among its affiliates that might have to contribute to settling the bankruptcy.
“Taking money that’s specifically given to help feed those who are the poorest among us, those who are facing food insecurity, those who are hungry, taking money that’s earmarked for that, and using it to pay for the actions of pedophile priests is absolutely in direct contrast to the teachings of Christ, direct contrast to what we should be doing as church,” Adams said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...-food-bank
The way that the archbishop of New Orleans’ Roman Catholic archdiocese fired leaders at a church-affiliated food bank Thursday has angered many congregants of the bankrupt organization.
A statement released on behalf of some of the ousted leaders said they had been removed for refusing to send the archdiocese up to $16m to pay settlements for child molestation committed by Catholic clergy.
Like so many others in the community, retired political strategist Sidney Arroyo said he was livid when he heard the news. He said he had worked closely with Jayroe and others at Second Harvest to help raise $15m for the food bank over the years.
“And this is what the archbishop wants to dip into as a money pot for the pedophile priests? I think that’s not only unacceptable, I think it’s disgusting.”
Arroyo says Second Harvest is bound by contracts with its major donors, such as Feeding America and the MacKenzie Scott foundation, which recently awarded the food bank $25m. He said that money could be in jeopardy if it is used for paying abuse settlements.
James Adams knows a thing or two about serving on a non-profit board controlled by the archbishop. He was president of the Catholic Community Foundation – the New Orleans archdiocese’s fundraising arm – until 2020, when he said he was pressured to step down shortly after he filed a lawsuit alleging a priest sexually abused him as a child.
He went on to represent fellow abuse survivors in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case. He says none of the 500 molestation claims filed in that case have anything to do with Second Harvest, so he always found it strange that the archdiocese listed Second Harvest among its affiliates that might have to contribute to settling the bankruptcy.
“Taking money that’s specifically given to help feed those who are the poorest among us, those who are facing food insecurity, those who are hungry, taking money that’s earmarked for that, and using it to pay for the actions of pedophile priests is absolutely in direct contrast to the teachings of Christ, direct contrast to what we should be doing as church,” Adams said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...-food-bank
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
