By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Gallup Independent
August 1, 2008

[This article was transcribed by BishopAccountability.org from PDFs 1 2 posted by the Gallup Independent. The PDFs are also the source of the photographs below. See the accompanying lead article with additional links, including the police report that describes the taking of the photos.]

Gallup—The diocesan official who discovered the severely injured Bishop Donald E. Pelotte last year issued an emotional statement Thursday, the day the police photographs were released to the general public.

Deacon Timoteo Lujan, the chancellor for the Diocese of Gallup, repeated his objection to the release of the photos, denied there was any cover-up concerning the circumstances of Pelotte's injuries, and compared the sufferings of the former Gallup bishop to the crucified Christ. Lujan's news release, in its entirety, is as follows:

"The Catholic faithful of our diocese—who have known and loved Bishop Donald Pelotte throughout his 22 years of service to New Mexico and beyond—continue their prayers for him during his ongoing recovery. The publication of the bishop's photos, taken without his consent while he lay in the hospital as a private citizen and medical patient, add unnecessary stress not only to the bishop, but to the people who have intimately loved him as their spiritual father.

"On the day of July 23, 2007, when Bishop Pelotte was admitted to a Gallup hospital, the physicians attending to him were responsible for his healing; the police who came out of procedure to question and photograph the bishop were there to determine the cause of his injuries; and I was there, as chancellor and as the bishop's spiritual brother to care for him.

"Let me make it clear that the Catholic Church lives out the Gospel with truth and integrity, and this includes this situation. We are not covering up—as some have alluded to—any information pertaining to the cause or nature of Bishop Pelotte's injuries. It is the responsibility of the emergency services in Gallup to investigate or determine that. Our job as a faithful Catholic people is to continue our spiritual support of our brother, Bishop Donald Pelotte.

"The only consolation we have in this whole tragic affair is that, like our Lord, Bishop Pelotte is being ridiculed and mistreated. He must surely be identifying closely with the experience of Jesus, whose wounds and nakedness were put on display by the Romans at the Crucifixion."

Photos of Bishop Donald E. Pelotte

Taken July 23, 2007, by the Gallup Police Department