NEW MEXICO
Daily Times
By Hannah Grover The Daily Times
Updated: 09/05/2013
FARMINGTON — On Sunday, Catholic churches throughout the Diocese of Gallup surprised parishioners with a letter from Bishop James S. Wall announcing that the diocese would file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The letter explained that sexual abuse lawsuits brought against the diocese prompted the bankruptcy.
In the past decade, more than a dozen priests in the Diocese of Gallup, which includes parishes in San Juan County, have been accused of sexually assaulting minors, according to BishopAccountability.org, a website based out of Massachusetts that documents abuse in the Catholic Church.
By the time Wall became bishop in 2009, the diocese was already troubled with lawsuits.
“Since becoming the Bishop of Gallup, I have worked to seek ways to bring healing to those who were harmed by sexual abuse,” Wall wrote in his letter. “Unfortunately, since becoming Bishop, the number of claims has continued to increase.”
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