Category: Gallup

The bankruptcy judge presiding over the Diocese of Gallup bankruptcy has set an August 11 deadline for victims of abuse in the diocese to come forward and file claims.

The Diocese of Gallup filed for bankruptcy protection last year. Why? Well, there were some pretty embarrassing and ugly civil child sex abuse trials coming up. And the last thing Bishop Wall wants is for more documents like those of Clement Hageman to become public. Previously secret diocese documents outlining Hageman’s career as a child sex abuser date back to the 1920s.

In fact, the Diocese refused to list the names of accused clerics and the number of known victims until AFTER the Chapter 11 filing.

They also seem to have a difficult time figuring out the worth of what they own.

From the National Catholic Reporter:

Another initial subject of dispute was the market value of real estate property in the diocese. When the diocese filed its first financial documents, it listed all its property as having an “unknown” market value. According to Boswell, the diocese had to seek the assistance of county officials in Arizona and New Mexico to determine what parcels of land it owned, and diocesan officials were looking for brokers that could determine the market value of key pieces of real estate.

Victims who were abused in Gallup only have until August 11, 2014, to come forward. After that date, most victims will no longer have any legal recourse.

The proof of claim form can be seen here. If you are a victim and are considering filing a claim, it’s probably best to seek legal counsel. Since transparency and disclosure are not high priorities for Bishop Wall, I doubt that victims without representation will be treated fairly.

But that’s just my opinion.

This week, The Gallup Independent published a scathing editorial about the bankruptcy proceedings in the Catholic Diocese of Gallup.

From the editorial:

[Bishop James] Wall and his bankruptcy attorneys — who are billing the diocese hundreds of dollars per hour — are already dragging the process out in an unjust, inequitable and unmerciful manner by trying to sell Judge David T. Thuma and the Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee program a bogus bill of goods. They are trying to convince federal officials that its priests aren’t really its employees, that its parishes aren’t really part of the diocese, and that its three main nonprofit organizations, the Catholic Peoples Foundation, Southwest Indian Foundation, and Catholic Charities of Gallup, don’t really raise money to benefit programs in the diocese.

It’s not the first time we have seen editorials like this.

Seems to me that if I attended a church where the leaders—who claim to carry the cross and message of Jesus Christ—repeatedly attempt to lie, cheat and swindle the court system, I’d find a new church. You know, a moral one.

But that’s just me.

I have been brewing about the bankruptcy debacle in Gallup for the past few days. And I keep coming up with the same fable:

Mortimer Snerd gets a speeding ticket. Instead of paying the ticket or going to traffic school (that is, being accountable for what he has done), our pal Snerd goes to the judge and says, “I am so poor. Look at my unitemized list of belongings. I am one of the poorest people I know. I have less than a fraction of the wealth of the majority of people in Newport Beach. I live in a simple condo and a family to support. I just can’t pay what you ask.”

But the truth is this: Snerd CAN pay. He has a job, knew he was speeding, and is just trying to get out of being accountable. He can pay the fines for his transgressions. But now, he claims he’s a victim, because he is not a multi-millionaire.

Snerd wouldn’t have an argument if he lived in Boise, where the same salary puts him in the 1%. It’s all in how he chose to frame himself. He’s not poor. He’s just not mega-rich.

So, we move on to Gallup.

Gallup Bishop James Wall is saying that the diocese is poor. Well, compared to dioceses like Orange, CA, Gallup is poor. If you compare yourself to the richest man in the room, of course you are going to look like a pauper. But the recent actions of Wall and other Gallup diocese leaders lead me to believe that Wall sits on a pile of wealth bigger than he is willing to let on.

And then, there’s this:

This is the newly renovated chapel attached to Bishop Wall’s residence. Don’t bother trying to see it—it’s only for priests and seminarians. According to the Catholic News Agency:

The process has been years in the making, and is nearly completed. The chapel has received a new altar and retablo, a celebrant’s chair, sanctuary rail, stations of the cross, flooring, and an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. A lectern and pews are still in the process of being prepared.

One of the priorities in commissioning the chapel, Fr. Keller said, was “to use the art that’s unique and local,” working with “New Mexico artists who are unique, and worthy as well.”

The artists, the article said, were paid by donations from parishes and wealthy Catholics.

So, let me get this straight:

—Gallup can raise money for a private chapel and pay commissioned artists, but they can’t raise the money to do a 2013 audit?

—The chapel was completed on time and artists were paid, yet the diocese has “undated loans” to help with the bankruptcy process?

—James Wall can put together budgets for the completion of the chapel and pay artisans for their work, but he can’t provide the courts with itemized budgets or help pay for victims’ counseling?

—Gallup can make a huge financial investment in the spiritual growth of priests and deacons and put them on the diocese group health insurance plans, but claims priests are not employees of the diocese? (even though the diocese pays for the eye and dental insurance of all priests and the parish reimburses the diocese for the costs of the priest’s health insurance. Note: you can’t put someone on your group insurance plan if they aren’t your employee. It doesn’t matter who you make pay the bill)

We should all be so poor …