NEW MEXICO
Wall Street Journal
By TOM CORRIGAN
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., which stretches across 55,000 square miles of northern Arizona and New Mexico, is seeking to sell 55 parcels of mostly vacant desert land to help fund a settlement with about 60 alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse.
In court papers filed last week, the diocese asked U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge David Thuma for permission to hire two real-estate brokers and to move forward with an auction process for the properties.
The auction will be held 50 to 60 days after the judge signs off on the request, according to court papers.
Lawyers representing the diocese, its insurers and alleged victims have spent nearly a year and a half assessing the value of the diocese’s assets and collecting evidence on the allegations of abuse and cover-up by diocesan officials.
The Diocese of Gallup, home to 58,000 parishioners, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2013 as several lawsuits related to sexual-abuse claims were preparing to go to trial.
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