ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Religious orders once associated with a now-shuttered Catholic boarding school for Native Americans are being accused of failing to protect students from sexual abuse by clergy and faculty.
The lawsuit naming an Ohio-based order of Franciscan Friars and the Pennsylvania-based Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament was filed this week in a New Mexico court by a law firm that has represented dozens of abuse survivors over the years.
The accusations stem from the 1980s while the unnamed plaintiff was a student at St. Catherine's Indian School in Santa Fe.
The religious orders did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The case comes as the Catholic church wrestles with a sex abuse and cover-up scandal that has spanned the globe. New Mexico's largest diocese is among the religious organizations seeking bankruptcy protection as a result.
