Santa Fe archbishop: time to be strong Catholics.' - archdiocese of Santa Fe, NM, may declare bankruptcy in connection with large financial settlements in sexual abuse cases - Interview

National Catholic Reporter, Jan 21, 1994 by Demetria Martinez

NCR: How likely a prospect is bankruptcy?

Sheehan: I can't give you a percentage of likelihood about it but we certainly don't want to do that. At the same time, if our insurance companies don't help us adequately, like they should, and if the plaintiff s attorney's don't become more reasonable, there's no way we can really come through on this without seeking some kind of relief.

Did you ever imagine that the church would find itself in this situation?

No. When I was ordained a priest and bishop it would never have crossed my mind that I would have to be dealing with such a painful situation.

What might bankruptcy mean? Could you give me some possible scenarios?

Well, I'm not a lawyer. I'm not a financier. I'm not an expert on bankruptcy. I'm a pastor. ... So you would have to talk to lawyers if you wanted to have more details about bankruptcy. What we would probably be looking at would be Chapter 11, where anything essential to the mission of the church would continue to be in our hands. Any nonessential cash and land would be taken by the courts to provide a pool from which settlements would be made.

In your short time here, has this had a personal impact on you?

Well, it's been a challenging and difficult assignment, no doubt about it. At the same time, I see the great blessings of the history and culture of New Mexico. The Catholicism here is robust and the church is alive. The church is alive despite these difficulties.

What response have you had from Catholics here and how do you think this whole experience is affecting them?

Well, I think the people have responded beautifully. And even my request for assistance from the parishes to establish a fund has been really remarkably well received, and the people have responded. The pastors and the people have responded - with some exceptions - but for every uncooperative person a thousand have been cooperative. ... I've had people come forward to talk to me, saying they want to be Catholic because now they see a lot more of the good, and the honest way in which this is being dealt with here in New Mexico has impressed them and moved them to want to join the church.

Of course this is a parish-by-parish decision as far as what each congregation will give. Do you have any figures yet?

The (information) is still coming in. ... We had aimed at getting a million dollars to put into a fund and I feel confident that we've already reached that figure.

Do you feel that the bankruptcy threat is an omen of things to come in other dioceses?

I think our situation here is more serious than in other places because we have in our backyard the Jemez Springs (Servants of the Paraclete) treatment center. Priests have come for years with these problems from various dioceses and religious institutes, and in the context of their being here they have acted out. And so our situation is perhaps much more critical than anyplace else.

What specific support have you received from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and individual bishops?

I have felt tremendous support from the executive committee of the NCCB. I met with them a week before I was installed, in fact, and with the nuncio, Archbishop (Agostino) Cacciavillan. ... They provided the legal services of the conference and also provided other experts in law from the East Coast who have been helping us. ... Also, there's some land up near Las Vegas, N.M., that they have had on their books that they have not been able to sell for some years and they are making it available to us. We feel with our local contacts we will be able to benefit financially. from these lands that have until now belonged to the conference of bishops.

Any specific bishops?

Well, certainly Monsignor Lynch, the general secretary of the bishops' conference. (Los Angeles) Cardinal (Roger) Mahony has been very helpful in terms of the attorneys he has recommended and made available through the conference. Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of Houston, also, and Archbishop Daniel Kucera of Dubuque. So I have felt tremendous support from the brother bishops - letters and calls of encouragement.

Do you see the hand of God in all this? Should the archdiocese go bankrupt, what grace or blessing might come about?

Well, it's like the old joke. There's got to be a pony in there somewhere, in the middle of all this trouble. ... A few years ago in Lubbock, when I was bishop, we had luminarias (candles set in sand in brown paper sacks) lining the sidewalk on the way to the cathedral. I was arriving at 11:30 for the midnight Mass and my homily was going to be focusing on these beautiful lights - you know, Christ is the, light of the world and the lights represent that. When I got there, the luminarias had been blown about by the heavy winds of west Texas, and had caught the lawn on fire, and the entire lawn from the door of the cathedral to the street was burned - a charred ruins. ... And of course it didn't help my homily because I could not refer to the beautiful luminarias. And it was kind of embarrassing, all of that charred land. ... But you know, the most beautiful lawn in the spring was the part that had been burned because of the nutrients that came into the soil. So, I think that in our situation too, the church is suffering, no question about it. But I think God will bring good from the suffering, and the cross will bear fruit, and that perhaps the church will be strengthened spiritually and morally by dealing directly and honestly with these problems we're facing today.