NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., Oct. 9, 2015

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com

ALBUQUERQUE — U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David T. Thuma issued a mild admonishment to Diocese of Gallup attorneys for barring the public and the media from a diocese property auction in Albuquerque Sept. 19.

However, in a hearing Wednesday, Thuma declined to invalidate the auction sale or order a new sale, citing concerns that money spent advertising a new auction couldn’t guarantee higher sales prices, which would actually hurt the clergy sex abuse claimants who are the primary creditors in the case.

“The court intended the auction to be a public auction,” Thuma said. “The auction was public in the sense that it was advertised to the public and any member of the public was invited to bid. It wasn’t public in the sense that non-bidders, such as…