NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque Journal

By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer
Thursday, November 12th, 2015

When former Gallup Bishop Donald Pelotte apologized to victims of sexual abuse by priests in 2005, he singled out Clement Hageman as among “the most abusive priests in the diocese.”

This week, one of the two insurers expected to provide money to settle the Diocese of Gallup Chapter 11 bankruptcy said that claims filed by 16 of Hageman’s alleged victims are not covered by the diocese’s insurance policies.

If a judge agrees, “then no coverage would exist for approximately 16 claimants where Father Hageman is alleged to have been the abuser,” an attorney for the New Mexico Property and Casualty Guaranty Association said in a motion filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Albuquerque.

Hageman pastored Madre de Dios Church in Winslow, Ariz., until his death in 1975.

The 16 claimants are among 57…