Latest news with #GregoryAymond
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘Blessing of the Fleet' ceremony held in New Orleans at start of Hurricane Season
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The Archdiocese of New Orleans is doing its part to make sure New Orleans' first responders and their equipment are ready for hurricane season. This is the annual 'Blessing of the Fleet' event at the New Orleans Police Department's 'Special Operations Division' on Tchoupitoulas Street. NORD Splash Day summer kickoff Archbishop Gregory Aymond blessed first responders from multiple agencies. The archbishop also recognized the agencies for their response to other disasters throughout the year, including the New Year's Day terror attack on Bourbon Street. 'They're humans, and they risk their lives, like they did on Jan. 1 and throughout the hurricane season, especially after a hurricane. So we very much depend on them and expertise. We need them, and that's what we want to say today: we not only need you, but we pray for God's protection upon you and all that you do,' said Aymond. The blessing also marked the upcoming 20th anniversary of Hurricane Orleans police searching for suspect in St. Claude art heist Three arrested in St. John Parish drug bust OPSO discusses funding needs for jail repairs with city council 'Blessing of the Fleet' ceremony held in New Orleans at start of Hurricane Season NORD Splash Day summer kickoff Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
New Orleans archbishop appears in court during contentious clergy sexual abuse bankruptcy case
The Catholic archbishop of New Orleans made a rare in-person appearance in federal bankruptcy court on Friday, days after announcing a potential agreement to settle claims with hundreds of clergy abuse survivors that has been met with pushback from some of the plaintiffs. 'I'm here because I'm concerned for the survivors,' Gregory Aymond said in an interview with WWL Louisiana away from the cameras after what is believed to have been his first appearance in person for an open court hearing in the five years since his archdiocese – one of the US's oldest – joined roughly 40 Catholic institutions to file for bankruptcy protection amid the worldwide church's long ongoing clergy molestation scandal. 'And we want to make sure it's reasonable expectations for what we can give them and to make sure the process proceeds.' But James Adams, a survivor of child sexual abuse by a Catholic priest stationed in New Orleans and the former chairperson of a committee representing survivors, questioned why Aymond hadn't shown up to previous hearings. 'If he was concerned for survivors, truly, I think there would have been a lot of things done differently from the beginning, unfortunately,' Adams said. Aymond also acknowledged that the bankruptcy he filed for the archdiocese on 1 May 2020 has dragged on too long and prevented abuse survivors from being compensated. 'We want that wait to end as soon as possible,' Aymond said. '[Survivors] have had terrible crimes committed against them, and we want to make sure to respect them and the pain they've been through. One way to do that is to expedite negotiations.' Aymond declined to answer additional questions or to comment on camera outside the courthouse. He didn't say anything in court on Friday either – but sat and listened quietly from the gallery as attorneys representing about 200 of the 600 abuse claimants blasted the settlement plan proposed days earlier, including one who called the deal 'dead on arrival'. Since the basic outline of the proposed settlement was announced on Wednesday, proponents and opponents have been jockeying for position and laying the groundwork for a vote by all claimants to confirm or reject it, which is expected this fall. Two-thirds of everyone making a claim in the church's bankruptcy must agree to the settlement terms for it to be finalized. The full details of the deal proposed on Wednesday haven't been presented yet. But it would provide $130m in cash and up to $110m more from insurance carriers and potential church property sales. That's about $100m short of a similar church bankruptcy case in Long Island, New York, cited by both sides as a good precedent for the New Orleans case, which was recently settled and finalized for $323m. The Long Island settlement, between the archdiocese of Rockville Centre and about 600 abuse survivors, netted the claimants there an average of about $540,000. Under the terms disclosed this week, survivors in New Orleans would get between $300,000 and $383,000 per claim, on average. The amount paid to each claimant depends on a formula based on the severity and evidence of abuse, among other factors. Even after five years, both the church and negotiating survivors say they still need more time to hammer out details before bringing the proposed agreement to an official vote of all 600 survivors and other creditors. The attorneys who spoke against the proposal in court on Friday – Soren Gisleson and Taylor Townsend – said they and associated attorneys represent more than 180 survivors, and they believe there are others who are as dedicated to voting to stop the deal. They hope to return their clients' cases to individual lawsuits for damages against the church in state court, which were stopped five years ago when the church sought bankruptcy protection. 'This deal is never going to get passed,' Gisleson said in front of Judge Meredith Grabill. 'They don't have the votes. And they're never going to get the votes.' Jim Stang, the lead attorney for the survivors' committee that negotiated the proposed deal, bristled at those assertions, saying he's handled many other complex bankruptcies, including the Rockville Centre archdiocese on Long Island – and the proposal this week was something the two sides could build on. 'This is far from over. This is a starting point,' Stang said. In an interview with WWL, Adams said: 'The starting point, if my math is correct, was five years ago.' Rick Kuebel, another attorney for the survivors' negotiating committee, estimated it could be late August before a final plan could be presented for a vote. It would then take two months to properly notify survivors and hold a vote, attorneys said Friday. Judge Grabill suggested an accelerated timeframe might be possible, and Kuebel said that could bring a final settlement to a vote by September at the earliest. Douglas Draper, attorney for the church's parishes, schools and other affiliates, suggested checks could go out to survivors in the first quarter of 2026 if a plan is approved.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Archbishop Aymond announces memorandum of understanding
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Archbishop Gregory Aymond announced a memorandum of understanding that he says could bring the Archdiocese's bankruptcy to a close. Aymond says the MOI is with the 'Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors,' a group that represents survivors of sex abuse in their claims against the Catholic Church. Attorney General Murrill and District Attorney Jason Williams tour Orleans Parish Jail Aymond did not release any details of the agreement and adds the plan must still be confirmed in federal bankruptcy court. He says he hopes it will lead to healing for local survivors, churches and the searching for Jeep thieves caught on camera These are the key last-minute changes to Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' Saints rookies experience crawfish during Touchdown Club's 51st annual 'Super Boil' How much is in the state's checkbook? Some good news and uncertainty Shreveport police crackdown on squatters with operation blue Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
New Orleans Archdiocese agrees to pay nearly $180M to victims of clergy sexual abuse
NEW ORLEANS — The Archdiocese of New Orleans has agreed to pay nearly $180 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse under a settlement announced Wednesday, the latest in a string of settlements by the Catholic Church . The archdiocese, its parishes and several insurers will pay $179.2 million into a trust to benefit survivors, according to a statement by the committee that negotiated the agreement. The money will be distributed after the church emerges from bankruptcy, it said. The deal also includes what the statement called 'unprecedented' provisions and procedures to safeguard against future abuse and provide services to survivors, including a survivors' bill of rights and changes to the Archdiocese's process for handling abuse claims. 'I am grateful to God for all who have worked to reach this agreement and that we may look to the future towards a path to healing for survivors and for our local church,' Archbishop Gregory Aymond said in a statement. The agreement, which would settle a lawsuit filed in 2020, still requires approval by the bankruptcy court, abuse survivors and other Archdiocese creditors. The suit involves more than 500 people who say they were abused by clergy. The case produced a trove of church records said to document years of abuse claims and a pattern of leaders transferring clergy without reporting their alleged crimes to law enforcement.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
New Orleans Archdiocese agrees to pay nearly US$180 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse
A silhouette of a crucifix and a stained glass window is seen inside a Catholic Church in New Orleans, Dec. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File) NEW ORLEANS — The Archdiocese of New Orleans has agreed to pay nearly $180 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse under a settlement announced Wednesday, the latest in a string of settlements by the Catholic Church. The archdiocese, its parishes and several insurers will pay $179.2 million into a trust to benefit survivors, according to a statement by the committee that negotiated the agreement. The money will be distributed after the church emerges from bankruptcy, it said. The deal also includes what the statement called 'unprecedented' provisions and procedures to safeguard against future abuse and provide services to survivors, including a survivors' bill of rights and changes to the Archdiocese's process for handling abuse claims. 'I am grateful to God for all who have worked to reach this agreement and that we may look to the future towards a path to healing for survivors and for our local church,' Archbishop Gregory Aymond said in a statement. The agreement, which would settle a lawsuit filed in 2020, still requires approval by the bankruptcy court, abuse survivors and other Archdiocese creditors. The suit involves over 600 people who say they were abused by clergy. The case produced a trove of church records said to document years of abuse claims and a pattern of leaders transferring clergy without reporting their alleged crimes to law enforcement.
