Ousted leaders say Gregory Aymond removed them after they refused to fund sexual abuse lawsuit settlements. 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. Aymond summarily removed Natalie Jayroe – the longtime president and CEO of Second Harvest of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana – on Thursday, as well as three members of the Second Harvest board of directors: Kristen Albertson, Nick Karl and Bert Wilson.

A statement released on behalf of some of the ousted leaders said they were removed for refusing to send the archdiocese up to $16m to pay settlements for child molestation committed by Catholic clergy. A letter sent Thursday by Aymond did not acknowledge the reason for replacing Jayroe and the three board members. The church has not responded to a request from Guardian reporting partner WWL Louisiana for comment.

Like so many others in the community, retired political strategist Sidney Arroyo said he was livid when he heard the news. He said he worked closely with Jayroe and others at Second Harvest to help raise $15m for the food bank over the years. “It’s one of the most successful food banks in the nation,” Arroyo said. “And they’ve done it all without a hint of scandal, without a hint of any kind of impropriety or misuse of funds. 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. The Feeding America national organization, a network of about 200 large food banks and 60,000 meal programs across the country that includes Second Harvest, sent WWL Louisiana a statement about the controversy.

It read, in part: “When people invest in our mission, we must strive to honor our commitment to them and to people facing hunger by ensuring the resources are used for their intended purposes.”. James Adams knows a thing or two about serving on a nonprofit board controlled by the archbishop. He was president of the Catholic Community Foundation 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.

Aymond initially told area Catholics that apostolates, ministries, schools and parishes would not have to contribute to the bankruptcy settlement. But as the case wore on for five years and the church’s legal fees mounted to over $40m, the archdiocese said it would ask its affiliates to contribute. By doing so, it would also protect those affiliates from being named as defendants in separate sexual abuse lawsuits.

But given that Second Harvest is not identified in any of the existing abuse claims, Adams does not understand why the church does not raise new money to help settle the bankruptcy. And he worries that Aymond’s willingness to demand money from Second Harvest sets a bad precedent for the church’s other dedicated funds. Adams alluded to how the archdiocese was running a campaign to raise $75m to help restore New Orleans’ St Louis Cathedral.