Hundreds of internal emails show executives of the New Orleans Saints were far more involved than previously known in providing public relations help to Catholic church leaders as they confronted a clergy sex abuse crisis.

Just how much help did the leadership of the Saints and Pelicans provide to the archdiocese of New Orleans as it was forced to acknowledge its own role covering up sexual abuse for decades amid the global Catholic church sex abuse crisis?

Hundreds of newly disclosed emails between the New Orleans Saints and the Archdiocese of New Orleans detail the extent to which two of the team’s top executives helped to shape