The opposing sides in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe bankruptcy case are battling over whether certain insurance records should be sealed from public view, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. Insurance coverage for the archdiocese is a key issue in the effort by victims and the church to reach an agreement in the case that involves more than 400 victims of clergy sexual abuse, most of them children. The chapter 11 bankruptcy case has dragged on for more than three years, and insurance coverage is expected to pay a big chunk of the undisclosed amount of money needed to settle. A Santa Fe attorney who represents several victims objected to confidentiality and sealing of records, contending in an interview yesterday that secrecy is what led to the tragedy of widespread priest abuse of children in the first place. “We’re here because of secrets that have been kept for years and years,” said attorney Merit Bennett. He said the request to seal documents amounts to “going backward in time. It needs to all be transparent.” He said that priests got away with molesting children for decades in part because they held community members’ secrets from the confessional and people were afraid to challenge them. Besides insurance coverage, the archdiocese has sought donations, sold some properties and held an online auction of small properties that ended yesterday. It was the second such auction. The first brought in about $1.4 million, likely a small fraction of the amount needed for a settlement.
