The Archdiocese of Santa Fe and four insurance companies Monday backed away from a request to have some records sealed from public view in its bankruptcy case involving hundreds of people who allege sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
During a meeting and conference call with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Thuma, attorneys in the case also discussed the sale last week of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Retreat and Conference Center in Santa Fe for about $6.75 million.
Modern Elder Academy, a Santa Fe-area business that offers lifelong learning opportunities, confirmed it is the buyer.
The archdiocese is selling properties in an effort to raise enough money to settle its Chapter 11 bankruptcy with more than 400 claimants of clergy sexual abuse.
Archdiocese attorney Thomas Walker had argued last month in a court filing the archdiocese and numerous insurers reached confidential agreements in the 1990s, when the clergy abuse scandal began to gain attention.
Los Angeles attorney James Stang, an attorney for a committee that represents victims in the case, objected to the motion to keep the documents sealed. Stang wrote in a response to the archdiocese’s request “the need for transparency is overwhelming and creditors [victims] should not be kept in the dark.”
During Monday’s meeting, Walker said sealing the records wasn’t necessary. If victims’ names and some other items were redacted, he said, the archdiocese and the insurance companies wouldn’t object to the documents being in the public record.
“We appreciate that keeping things secret is not desirable,” Walker said.
Stang noted mediation in the bankruptcy case will resume next month. The case, more than three years old, is on its third mediator.
Walker told Thuma and the other attorneys the archdiocese will net about $6.3 million after commission and closing costs in the Immaculate Heart sale.
Modern Elder Academy and the Mighty Union, a Texas-based hospitality company, vied for the property in early 2021. The archdiocese had listed the 12.4-acre property in August 2020 for $7.8 million.
Immaculate Heart, at 50 Mount Carmel Road, is between Museum Hill and St. John’s College and across the street from Santa Fe Preparatory School. Immaculate Heart started as a sanatorium 100 years ago and came under archdiocese ownership after World War II.
The Immaculate Heart facilities include buildings with meeting rooms, classrooms and other gathering places.
Modern Elder Academy majority owner Chip Conley in January 2021 purchased the 2,600-acre Saddleback Ranch near Galisteo. He plans to create a U.S. companion “midlife wisdom school” to pair with the Midlife Elder Academy he opened in 2018 north of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, to serve as a boot camp for dealing with middle age.
Conley was traveling Monday and unavailable for comment.
In May, Conley said in an interview he envisions a “country” version of Modern Elder Academy in Galisteo and a “city” version at Immaculate Heart. The Galisteo version will be focused more on nature, while the Immaculate Heart version may collaborate with neighboring schools, he said.
“We are tremendously excited to work with the existing tenants and surrounding schools to forge enriching intergenerational collaboration on what might one day also become known as ‘Education Hill,’ ” Modern Elder spokeswoman Joanie Griffin wrote in an email.
“Most importantly,” she added, “we are humbled to join such a long-standing, close-knit community and are committed to being supportive and respectful neighbors of its institutions and residents alike.”
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February 15, 2022 at 10:58PM
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Church reverses course on request to seal records - Santa Fe New Mexican
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