TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Daily Star
By Carol Ann Alaimo
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Dozens of Catholic church properties were auctioned off at a Tucson hotel for at least $2.4 million Saturday, amid merry strains of fiddle music and frenzied shouts of bidders.
But the hoopla was tinged with sadness for those who recalled the reasons behind the unprecedented sales event.
The properties, owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, were sold with Bankruptcy Court approval to help pay settlements to victims sexually abused as children by priests.
"My heart pours out to the victims," said Quincy Robinson, 52, of Las Vegas, who heard about the diocese auction on the Internet and jetted into town with her husband in search of land deals.
"If this is the way the victims can be compensated, then that's the way it has to be," Robinson said.