NEW MEXICO
ABQ Journal
By Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board
It was a dirty secret for years. Now the extent of sexual abuses by some priests in the Diocese of Gallup is being hidden behind legal maneuvering in bankruptcy court.
Thirteen lawsuits have been filed in Arizona Superior Court since August 2010 alleging sexual abuse by six priests in the diocese from the 1950s to the 1980s.
In reaction to the lawsuits and in expectation of more to come, the diocese has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy protection. In addition to the pending lawsuits, three lawsuits and at least a dozen complaints have been settled – in secret. That makes determining the scope of the abuse difficult.
The diocese’s attorney says she does not know how many cases the diocese has settled, when the settlements were made, or how much the diocese has paid. Bankruptcy court records list 121 “confidential claimants” who have filed abuse claims against the diocese.
Victims’ attorneys say the bankruptcy filing is a way to hide the scope of the abuse. They say it stops lawsuits from being filed and depositions from being taken, halts the discovery process attorneys use to find information, postpones lawsuits in progress and seals the case from the public. In a Sunday Journal story by staff writer Olivier Uyttebrouck, an attorney who has 18 claimants who have not filed lawsuits yet says the filing makes it unlikely lawsuits can be filed after bankruptcy proceedings are over.
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