Attorney: Abuse victims want archdiocese eliminated

Claim alleges that suits will force Church to sell all of its property; plaintiffs’ attorney says comments are untrue

ALBUQUERQUE — An attorney for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe is claiming alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse and their lawyers are seeking to eliminate the Roman Catholic organization by forcing it to use all of its assets to settle complaints.

Tom Walker, the archdiocese’s lawyer, made the claim during a court hearing Monday about three lawsuits alleging the archdiocese illegally transferred about $245 million to parishes and their trusts before filing for bankruptcy. The suits accuse the archdiocese of attempting to shield the assets from being used to pay settlements in civil lawsuits claiming sexual abuse by priests.

The alleged victims want to eliminate the physical presence of the Church by forcing it to sell all its property, Walker said.

“We are trying to get the funds available for the settlement that we very, very much want,” he said, adding the archdiocese recently made a settlement offer to the representatives of more than 370 alleged victims of child sexual abuse.

James Stang, lawyer for some accusers, called Walker’s allegations unconstructive and untrue.

The archdiocese’s website lists 79 priests and clergy members who have been “credibly accused” of sexually abusing children. Church officials filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in 2018 following a slew of sexual abuse claims.

Accusers later challenged the organization’s asset transfers.

A federal bankruptcy judge decided Oct. 9 the accusers could pursue their challenges of the transfers, but Judge David T. Thuma wrote in his ruling the issue was a “difficult” one.

On one hand, he wrote, if the archdiocese can successfully defend its claims that the assets were held in trust for parishes and don’t belong to the archdiocese, the litigation could be a waste of time and money that could have been used to settle valid abuse cases.

But if the plaintiffs are successful, he said, the challenge could free up millions of dollars to pay victims’ settlements.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe is among 29 Catholic dioceses and religious orders in the U.S. that have filed for bankruptcy because of sexual abuse accusations.

Information from The New Mexican was used in this report.