NEW MEXICO
The New York Times
By DENNIS HEVESI
Published: January 23, 2012
Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez, who as the nation’s first Hispanic archbishop fought discrimination within the Roman Catholic Church, but who resigned in 1993 while facing accusations that he had had sex with several women when they were teenagers, died on Friday in Albuquerque. He was 77.
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which he led for nearly two decades, said he died in a nursing home for Alzheimer’s patients.
Appointed by Pope Paul VI in 1974, Archbishop Sanchez was a descendant of the first Spanish settlers in New Mexico, the archdiocese said. …
Archbishop Sanchez resigned amid a rising tide of complaints about sexual abuse by priests around the country. He made the announcement in March 1993, two days before a “60 Minutes” report on CBS was to name three women who said he had had sex with them when they were teenagers, in the 1970s and early ’80s. He released a statement expressing regret for his actions, without specifying what they were.
Earlier that month, The Albuquerque Journal reported that the women had gone public after the archbishop told reporters that he could not remember complaints from parents about priests molesting their children. At the time, more than a dozen lawsuits were pending against the archdiocese alleging sexual abuse by priests.
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