NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent
Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., March 18, 2017
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com
GALLUP — The spokeswoman for the Diocese of Gallup offered an apology – tempered with an explanation – after Bishop James S. Wall postponed eight healing services for survivors of clergy sex abuse and rescheduled them in March 2018.
Wall initially canceled five healing services in January because of illness, but then postponed another service in February because it conflicted with his annual Mardi Gras fundraiser celebration and postponed two upcoming services in July because they conflict with a speaking engagement he accepted at the annual Tekakwitha Conference for Native American Catholics.
A number of individuals, including several abuse survivors, expressed frustration to the Independent over the Mardi Gras and Tekakwitha cancellations as well as disappointment that all eight services were postponed to next year.
“The Tekakwitha Conference and Mardi Gras conflicts were a scheduling oversight on our part, and we extend sincere apologies to anyone – especially survivors – affected by the rescheduling,” diocesan spokeswoman Suzanne Hammons wrote in an email.
“I understand the frustration survivors may be feeling,” Hammons added. “It can be hard to strike that balance between fulfilling the duties of our regular ministries and also meeting the needs of survivors, and we regret that in these two cases, that balance was not handled effectively. We will make every effort to prevent conflicts in the future.”
“The Mardi Gras fundraiser is the largest single fundraiser for Catholic schools,” Hammons wrote, “and provides crucial funding for the education and needs of children in the Diocese, many of who also rely on the schools as a source for meals, counseling, and other resources.”
Hammons said the Tekakwitha Conference is also important because of Wall’s position as chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on Native American Affairs. Wall “has the responsibility of listening to the voices of Indigenous Catholics,” she wrote, and the conference “provides Native People with a major platform to voice their needs and concerns on a national scale.”
Hammons also asserted diocesan officials consulted with members of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors about rescheduling the healing services. The committee represented the interests of clergy sex abuse claimants in the Gallup Diocese’s now concluded bankruptcy case.
“The revised schedule was made after extensive and careful planning with the Creditors’ Committee, which includes survivors of abuse,” Hammons wrote.
Blindsided by decision
Prudence Jones, a Gallup resident and a member of the committee, took issue with Hammons’ statements. Jones attended the first healing service in November and had offered public remarks complimenting both the bishop and the service at the time.
However, in a phone interview Tuesday, Jones described herself as “blindsided” by the bishop’s decision to postpone the eight services until March 2018. By pushing the services so far back, Jones said, it gives the appearance “that the pain and suffering these victims suffered because of abuse is not very important to the diocese.”
“I believe a timely schedule for the healing services is so important because now that the bankruptcy is finalized, the victims of clergy abuse are beginning the process of rebuilding their lives and these healing services are an integral part of that process,” she said.
There are no healing services scheduled this month and only one service in April. For the remainder of the year, the bishop has between one to three services scheduled per month.
Jones also questioned Hammons’ claim that diocesan officials consulted with committee members about rescheduling the postponed services. Now that the bankruptcy case is concluded, she said, the seven members of the committee still occasionally keep in touch by email regarding bankruptcy-related matters. Jones said none of the other committee members sent out an email saying the diocese was asking for the committee’s input.
“I was not contacted by the diocese, and that was surprising to me as I’m the only committee member that lives in Gallup and therefore in a position to be working closely with the diocese as a committee member,” Jones said.
Profound healing effect
Committee members Criss Candelaria and Jo Ulibarri also confirmed they were not consulted about rescheduling the postponed services. In addition, Arizona attorney Robert E. Pastor, who represented Jones and a fourth committee member, said he had not heard of diocesan officials soliciting input from the committee. The remaining three committee members maintain their anonymity and do not speak with the media.
Ulibarri said a diocesan official did notify her in January that healing services in Farmington and Lumberton were being postponed because of the bishop’s illness, but she said she wasn’t told when any of the postponed services would be rescheduled.
“I understand the Bishop has been ill and he is busy, but I’d like to see these services done,” Ulibarri wrote in an email Tuesday. “I feel like the victims need these services as an acknowledgement of what happened to us and it’s just getting pushed aside.”
Candelaria, the chairman of the committee, was the only contacted committee member not concerned with the postponements.
“I was not consulted but I have no strong objection provided they occur,” Candelaria wrote in an email. “I don’t think time is of the essence. It may be beneficial in that the reconciliation masses spread over a reasonably longer period of time might keep it in public awareness.”
In contrast, Joelle Casteix, the western regional director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, criticized the lengthy postponements because many abuse survivors are older individuals in poor health.
“Healing masses and visiting the parishes where clerics abused children are a ‘no-brainer’ that has a profound healing effect on many survivors,” Casteix said in a statement released March 9. “In fact, this is something that Wall should have done early in his tenure. By postponing these services for fundraisers and conferences, Wall is telling victims he doesn’t really care. And because many of the victims are older and ill, these year-long postponements may outlast the lifespans of many of the most hurt victims.”
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