ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
Albuquerque Journal
December 17, 2018
By Colleen Heild
A longtime New Mexico Catholic priest announced to parishioners on Sunday that, despite his “vow of loyalty” to the church, he has been a “whistle-blower” who has privately assisted victims of clergy sex abuse and their attorneys “seek justice” for more than two decades.
Most recently, Father Vincent Paul Chávez said he has been assisting two agents with the state Attorney General’s office in their investigation of clergy sex abuse and how the church has responded to it.
Chávez, pastor of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Parish and Catholic school in Albuquerque, said during his homily at Sunday Mass that it was time to “talk about the elephant in the room” after learning on Saturday that the planned construction of a new cafeteria for his St. Therese school would have to be postponed indefinitely because of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy action filed by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in late November.
Archdiocese officials, in citing the financial burden of priest sex abuse litigation, said in late November that parishes likely wouldn’t be impacted by the bankruptcy reorganization.
Chávez told more than 100 people who attended the 10 a.m. Mass Sunday morning, “I felt the Chapter 11 would not affect the day-to-day operation of our parishes and schools.”
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