NEW MEXICO
Wall Street Journal
By TOM CORRIGAN
A bankruptcy judge has ordered the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., its insurance carriers and lawyers representing 58 alleged sexual-abuse victims to begin mediation no later than July 15.
Judge David Thuma, who oversees the diocese’s bankruptcy proceedings, signed off on mediation at the request of both alleged victims and the diocese, which stretches across broad swaths of northern Arizona and New Mexico.
Mediation is likely the best opportunity to resolve the diocese’s bankruptcy case through a settlement that provides compensation to alleged victims and protects the church from future litigation, according to lawyers involved in the case. Other diocesan bankruptcies prompted by sexual-abuse claims have stretched out over years, racking up huge legal bills.
In advance of mediation, lawyers representing the diocese, insurers and alleged victims have spent nearly a year and a half seeking out victims, assessing the value of the diocese’s assets and collecting evidence on the allegations of abuse and alleged cover-up by diocesan officials, much of which is said to have taken place decades ago.
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