On June 26, 2024, the Apache Christ icon that hung in St Joseph Apache Mission was taken in the middle of the night while community members recovered from local wildfires that caused the evacuations of thousands of people. It was a shock to our summer youth catechism teachers and attendees to enter the church and be greeted by an empty space where the Apache Christ icon once stood. Mescalero Tribal Police were called to investigate.  When staff questioned the pastor about it he stated he did not know anything. 

Those responsible for the secret removal of the painting include the Pastor, members of the Knights of Columbus, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces. 

After several calls to the Diocese, Deacon Eric returned my call and confirmed that they were indeed behind the secret removal of the painting, when asked where the painting was and if the painting was still on reservation land, he replied that “it is not germane”. I informed him that the painting was a gift to the Mescalero Apache people and taking it without consent is an example of the corrupt character of Father Chudy and failure of the Diocese to intervene. This shows that they may even condone this behavior.

 Pope Francis and the Catholic Church had just apologized for the atrocities committed against Indigenous People and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops just released the "Keeping Christ's Sacred Promise: A Framework for Indigenous Ministry". Despite all of work that has been done to regain the trust and build a new relationship with Indigenous People, this recent act of hate by our priest and the Dioceses makes it clear that racism and colonialism is alive and well at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces.

Listen to Audio of conversation with Deacon John Eric Munson, OFS (Chief Operating Officer) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces on June 27, 2024.

 Contact:  annemarie.brillante@stjosephapachemission.org

Updated 7.18.24

I have decided to share a phone conversation I had with the Safe Environment Coordinator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces after she called me on July 1, 2024.

Listen Here to Conversation with Safe Environment Coordinator

I had answered the phone in hopes that the Diocese was calling to discuss the paintings that had been “removed”  from the church without permission. The paintings had been relocated to the Las Cruces Diocese by representatives of the Diocese, which included two priests, the property risk manager, and members of the Knights of Columbus. To my dismay it was not about the paintings. Instead it was Mary Garcia, the Safe Environment Coordinator, she said she was calling because she had just been informed about a potentially inappropriate situation. 

I informed her that I would send her all of the information regarding the incident to her email within a few hours. I explained that I thought an email  with all the information would be best so that way we would all have a written account of the incident and that way there would be no misunderstandings.  Mary then became more demanding about what information I had to give her and when I had to do so. I also informed her that my daughter was not a minor and she was over 18. This did not seem to make any difference to Mary, she continued to insist that I give her my daughter’s personal information. As soon as Mary found out that my daughter was over 18, she should have stopped asking me for any information. I feel that the way this Safe Environment Coordinator handled this situation was poor to say the least.  First, the demands and the harsh tone that Mary used is not one that should be used by a person who holds a position as important as hers. Second, once she learned that my daughter was an adult she should have stopped asking me any questions. Third, using the threat of involving the police to get me to give her information was wrong. How could anyone feel comfortable reporting anything to that woman, if she was that aggressive and threatening. 

I wonder why it took her so long to call me after my initial email about my concerns regarding Father Chudy; Mary Garcia was CC’d in all of the correspondence I had with the Diocese. My first email on May 31, 2024, identified my concerns regarding our priest, but apparently it was not important enough to investigate then. Instead she waits until someone else questions her about a potential safety concern.

I feel the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces has shown a pattern of racist behavior in all our interactions with them. When we did call with concerns, they would ask where we were from and when we would say Mescalero, they would dismiss our concerns and send us to voicemail. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces and its employees have shown their racist agenda in these last 6 months and they all need to be replaced. 

Bishop Baldacchino has yet to apologize for stealing (they call it: removing), take responsibility for the actions of those in his charge or to give any assurance that this would never happen again.

Listen Here to Conversation with Safe Environment Coordinator

Contact: 

Surveillance from July 26, 2024 in St.Joseph Apache Mission

Updated: July 5, 2024 @ 5:15

Sacred Pottery Vessels, Basket and Frame Adornments Returned 

Everything that we knew to be missing has been located and returned to the church. The pottery chalice, ciborium and basket were left in the priest's house along with his keys, the frame adornments were located in a corner in the church. We are so thankful to everyone that helped us bring home our paintings, baskets and sacred pottery vessels, we would not have been able to do it without you. God is good.

We will continue to stay the course, the act that these individuals committed is a crime. In a single hateful act they broke the trust that we as a Church had worked so hard to rebuild. Memories of the atrocities committed by the Church against Indigenous people came flooding back. The return of our belongings was a first step in the healing process, but we deserve an apology, a promise that this will never happen again, not just here in Mescalero, but in all Indigenous communities,  and finally everyone involved in the theft to be held accountable for their actions.

~ Anne Marie