Bishop taking leave of absence

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

Bishop Pelotte

GALLUP — Bishop Donald E. Pelotte is taking an immediate medical leave of absence from the Diocese of Gallup, a diocesan official announced Thursday.

Matt Doyle, the interim spokesperson for the diocese, issued a brief news release stating Pelotte had informed Vatican officials of his decision and that the bishop would now “focus his time and energy” on recovering from injuries he sustained in his Gallup home in July 2007. After being discovered in his home, Pelotte told chancery officials, medical personnel, and Gallup police officers that he was injured in a fall. Chancery officials have subsequently said Pelotte is suffering from traumatic brain injury.

“It was hoped at the time that a return to more familiar surroundings would enhance the bishop’s recovery,” Doyle said of Pelotte’s return to Gallup on Sept. 21. “Now, in consultation with his doctors, the bishop will be taking a different tact in his recovery. The details of the regimen have not been released other than it will not take place in Gallup.”

Pelotte will remain bishop during the leave, Doyle said, but the Rev. James Walker, the vicar general of the diocese, will continue with the diocese’s administrative duties for the time being. In a brief telephone conversation on Thursday, Doyle said no length of time has been specified for the bishop’s leave of absence.

Pelotte’s continuing problems with his recovery have been evident since his return to Gallup. Six days after his return, Pelotte made national headlines because of his early morning call to Metro Dispatch in which the obviously confused bishop told a 911 dispatcher and several investigating police officers than his home had been invaded by several gentle intruders who were 3 to 4 feet tall.

That same week, Pelotte did not attend a meeting of his fellow bishops of the Province of Santa Fe, nor did he attend the November meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He has made no public appearances since his return to Gallup.

Last week the Independent submitted a number of questions to Doyle about Pelotte’s condition. Doyle was asked when the diocese was going to release a full statement about the circumstances of Pelotte’s injuries — something promised by Walker not long after the July 23 incident — updates about Pelotte’s memory and cognitive abilities, questions about the bishop’s actual ability to work, inquiries about the role alcohol may have played in the July 23 incident, and any possible comparisons to be made in light of last week’s news reports that Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was allegedly assaulted by an unknown perpetrator in July, that he did not report the incident to police, and that it took Mahony several weeks to recover from the incident.

Doyle extended the concern and prayers of the Diocese of Gallup to Mahony and anyone involved in the incident but said there was no comparison to be made since Pelotte has maintained that he was injured by falling in his home.

“As for the other questions submitted by the Independent,” Doyle responded via e-mail, “the Diocese of Gallup does not have any additional information to release at this time regarding the injuries to Bishop Pelotte. As has been stated before Bishop Pelotte has chosen to keep his own counsel in the matters of his medical care — in consultation with his doctors of course.”

Over the last several years, local Catholics have been reporting to the Independent that chancery officials have blamed some of Pelotte’s no-shows and illnesses on malaria relapses.

Whatever the cause of Pelotte’s continuing medical problems, chancery officials are concerned. According to sources in the diocese, at an October retreat for diocesan priests in Tucson, Ariz., Walker told priests that he and other officials wanted to prevent any incidents similar to that of former Phoenix Bishop Thomas O’Brien. In 2003 O’Brien killed a Navajo man in a hit-and-run accident in Phoenix and then avoided law enforcement authorities for two days.

In other news related to Pelotte’s injury, the legal battle over the Gallup police photos taken of Pelotte on July 23 is slowly moving forward. The city of Gallup recently filed a reply in the case, and District Judge Grant Foutz has scheduled a Jan. 10, 2008 status conference.

Reporter Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola can be contacted at (505) 863-6811 ext. 218 or ehardinburrola@yahoo.com.