A bankruptcy judge on Wednesday declined to order a new sale of properties belonging to the Diocese of Gallup, N.M., even though auctioneers made an “error in judgment” by turning away a newspaper reporter and a graduate student from what had been billed as a public auction last month in Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Journal reported on Thursday. Bankruptcy Judge David T. Thuma said that ordering a new auction could harm victims of sexual abuse by priests by reducing the money available to settle the diocese’s chapter 11 case. Auctions held last month in Albuquerque and Phoenix netted the diocese about $160,000 after fees were paid to real estate brokers handling the sales. As of June 30, legal and professional costs in the case had mounted to more than $2.6 million. Ordering a new auction “would cost money,” Judge Thuma said at the end of a hearing in Albuquerque. “There is a risk that ordering a new auction would harm the creditors, who are abuse victims.” Read more.
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