FERNDALE (MI)
Church Militant
May 21, 2020
By Bradley Eli
Santa Fe shorts sex abuse victims
An archdiocese that filed for bankruptcy owing to clerical sex abuse is receiving nearly $1 million in federal relief funds.
Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge David T. Thuma is ruling the archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico can receive a $900,000 federal loan as part of the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package set up in March. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was exempting Santa Fe because the archdiocese had filed for bankruptcy in 2018 owing to clerical sex abuse.
Lepanto Institute founder and president Michael Hichborn told Church Militant the ruling was grossly unjust.
“It’s absolutely appalling that a bishop would apply for government funding in order to help cover the cost of sex abuse lawsuits,” remarked Hichborn. “That would be like Al Capone using Chicago city funds to pay off his gambling and prostitution debts!”
Santa Fe isn’t the only diocese to seek federal funding after sheltering money from sex abuse victims by filing for bankruptcy protection. Two New York dioceses of Buffalo and Rochester also sued the SBA, for attempting to keep both from receiving federal cash.
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