Bad news for Arizona Catholics came earlier this year when the Catholic Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The reason for filing, according to AZ Central, is because of costs related to “more than a dozen clergy abuse lawsuits.” The Gallup Dioceses “encompasses Arizona’s Apache and Mohave counties, and seven of the 13 plaintiffs in the lawsuits reside in Maricopa County.” The Southwest Diocese is not the first in the nation to have to file for bankruptcy protection, however. According to AZ Central, Gallup was the ninth diocese to have to file. “Tucson was the second, in a case resolved in 2005. Tucson ended up paying $22.2 million to more than 50 abuse victims.”
According to Reuters News Service, Gallup Bishop James S. Wall denied that the diocese’s filing for bankruptcy was a means to “avoid responsibility for what happened or to hide anything.” The Bishop instead said that filing for bankruptcy was the diocese’s best method of being able to compensate victims of the abuse scandals. “Child sex abuse litigation has cost the U.S. Catholic Church some $3 billion in settlements in the two decades since the ongoing scandal erupted with a series of molestation cases uncovered in Boston in 1992,” Reuters reports.
The Gallup diocese is the poorest in the nation, diocese spokesman Rev. Tim Farrell told Reuters. Farrell could not identify exactly how much in fines and litigation costs the diocese was facing, but that it was “more than we have.” Some of the cases that were pending against the organization date back more than half a century, and that even though they are no longer a part of the diocese, the Church has a responsibility for them.
A Phoenix attorney who represents plaintiffs in the cases told Reuters that, “bankruptcy filling would delay litigation of the claims.” Filing for bankruptcy was expected to put the diocese on the path toward being financially solvent.
If you have been affected by the diocese’s bankruptcy or have any other questions about the bankruptcy process, the most important first step is to seek the counsel of an attorney. Contact an Arizona bankruptcy attorney today.