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<\/p>\n JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press<\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n February 11, 2020, 12:30 AM<\/p>\n 3 min read<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nThe owner of the New Orleans Saints said Monday that the NFL team played no role in determining which priests would be named in the list of \u201ccredibly accused\u201d clergy published by the area’s Roman Catholic Church. <\/p>\n \nGayle Benson, a devout Catholic who has donated millions of dollars to church causes, also said in a lengthy statement that she has never \u201ccontributed nor will ever make payments\u201d to pay for legal settlements to the victims of clergy abuse. <\/p>\n \n\u201cTo suggest that I would offer money to the Catholic Church to pay for anything related to the clergy-molestation issue sickens me,\u201d she added. It was not clear who had made that suggestion.<\/p>\n \nThe statement marked Benson’s first remarks since The Associated Press reported last month about hundreds of confidential Saints emails that allegedly show team executives did behind-the-scenes public relations damage control amid the archdiocese’s clergy abuse crisis \u2014 communications the Saints have gone to court to keep from being made public. A hearing is scheduled in New Orleans next week to determine whether they may be released. <\/p>\n \nBenson’s statement acknowledged that Greg Bensel, the Saints’ senior vice president of communications, helped the Archdiocese of New Orleans \u201cprepare for the media\u201d surrounding the November 2018 release of a list that named dozens of clergy members whom the church deemed \u201ccredibly accused\u201d of sexually abusing children. <\/p>\n \nBenson, who inherited the Saints and New Orleans Pelicans following her husband’s 2018 death, said Bensel urged the church to be \u201chonest, complete and transparent.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\u201cWe are proud of the role we played and yes, in hindsight, we would help again to assist the Archdiocese in its ability to publish the list with the hope of taking this step to heal the community,” Benson said. <\/p>\n \nAttorneys for about two dozen men suing the church have painted a different picture of the team’s role, alleging in court filings that the confidential emails show executives joined in the church\u2019s \u201cpattern and practice of concealing its crimes.\u201d The attorneys contend that included taking an active role in helping to shape the archdiocese\u2019s list of 57 credibly accused clergy, a roster an AP analysis found was undercounted by at least 20 names. <\/p>\n \nPlaintiffs attorneys John Denenea and Richard Trahant said in a statement Monday that “it is obvious that Gayle Marie Benson has not read the e-mails the Saints are hiding from the public, or even re-read her own e-mails. If she had read them, she could never have made some of the false claims asserted in her statement today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n