NEW MEXICO
ABQ Journal
By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: Sunday, July 13, 201
New Mexicans first met Michael Sheehan in April 1993 when the 53-year-old bishop was tapped by the Vatican to lead the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in a time of mounting crisis.
The leaderless archdiocese had been rocked by allegations of clerical sexual abuse.
Just three weeks earlier, the popular Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez had resigned after five women alleged he had sexually molested them when they were teenagers. New Mexicans were shocked to hear several women describe those abuses on “60 Minutes,” CBS’ news program.
Sanchez was one of at least 14 priests accused of sexual abuse at the time Sheehan arrived and lawsuits were beginning to pile up. Sheehan ultimately dismissed an estimated 20 priests as a result of the scandal.
Then-Bishop of Lubbock, Sheehan was met by a phalanx of reporters at his first news conference in Albuquerque.
“I want to put the household of faith in order,” Sheehan said following a flight from Texas. “But I cannot do it alone, nor can I do it overnight.”
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