Catholic diocese by New Mexico reservations seeks bankruptcy

Wednesday, September 4, 2013  

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup in New Mexico will be filing for bankruptcy protection in federal court due to sex abuse claims.

The diocese includes churches on seven reservations in New Mexico and Arizona. The largest is the Navajo Nation, whose courts are considering one of many sex abuse lawsuits against the clergy.

Up until 2008, the diocese was led by Donald Pelotte, an Abenaki man from Maine who was the first Native American Catholic bishop. He resigned after sustaining injuries during a suspicious incident at his home in Gallup.

Pelotte died in 2010 after moving to Florida. Before he passed, he said he wanted to return to New Mexico to continue working with Indian communities.

Get the Story:
Diocese in NM to file for bankruptcy protection over mounting clergy sex abuse legal claims (AP 9/3)