Amid allegations that thousands of financial records were stolen from the Diocese of Las Cruces, a New Mexico court has dismissed a civil lawsuit against a former diocesan employee accused of distributing them.
The lawsuit against Georgina Lavery, filed just three days after her resignation from the diocese in September 2025, was dismissed May 12, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News.
The dismissal marks the latest development in a widening dispute in the southern New Mexico diocese involving allegations of stolen records, the suspension of a parish priest, and tensions surrounding the Neocatechumenal Way, a controversial Catholic lay movement recently introduced into the parish.
In a May 8 letter to the Basilica of San Albino in the town of Mesilla, Bishop Peter Baldacchino clarified why Father Christopher Williams, who is the pastor of the parish, was suspended from ministry.
“In September 2025, the Diocese became aware that over sixty thousand private diocesan records were stolen. This was immediately reported to civil authorities, and the Diocese began an internal investigation,” the bishop wrote.
The bishop’s letter explained that the diocese became aware of Williams’ and some basilica employees’ involvement in the theft, which occurred at the home of the leader of Voice of the Laity, an organization that was founded to question the role the Neocatechumenal Way was playing in the diocese.
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The local newspaper reported that in the lawsuit, the diocese demanded Lavery “identify the persons Defendant shared Plaintiff’s financial information with.”
On May 21, Deacon Jim Winder, Vice-Chancellor for Communications and Legal Affairs for the diocese, told the Las Cruces Sun-News that the lawsuit was dropped because the data was no longer at risk of distribution.
“Our goal was to protect the data that was stolen from the diocese. Everything possible has been accomplished to protect the data, and this particular lawsuit is no longer needed. However, as we continue the investigation into the theft, we may bring additional lawsuits against those we believe are responsible,” the deacon told the newspaper.
“Father Christopher Williams is the subject of ongoing civil and canonical investigations into his involvement in this matter. His disposition and any future assignment are contingent on the findings of the investigations,” Winder said.
Baldacchino’s May 8 letter indicated the Diocese had reported the matter to local law enforcement.
No charges have been filed against Williams or Lavery.
“At this time, the diocese is continuing its investigation and determining what future steps to take, including legal action against individuals involved in the theft. The decision of whether these steps are along criminal, civil, or canonical avenues will be determined by the facts of the case,” Winder told the Las Cruces Sun-News.
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Voice of the Laity has raised questions and concerns after the bishop sent out a June 6, 2025, letter to priests announcing plans to open two seminaries—St. Joseph Seminary and Redemptoris Mater Seminary.
Baldacchino said one would focus on formation for the local diocese and the other, ad extra, would prepare missionary priests for “wherever there is need.”
RELATED: What is the Neocatechumenal Way?
Redemptoris Mater seminaries are found in many dioceses around the world and are associated with the Neocatechumenal Way, a lay movement founded in Spain in 1964 to promote small, community-based faith formation and missionary evangelization within parishes. The movement, which claims one million followers, has been controversial in some dioceses because critics accuse it of operating too independently within parishes, creating internal divisions, and placing strong loyalty to the movement above broader parish life.
Maltese-born Baldacchino is the first member of the movement to become a bishop in the United States.
Steven Zimmerman, who worked at the Basilica of San Albino until Feb. 6, reported the theft of the documents to the diocese.
“The Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces has consistently worked to prevent the spread of the documents taken by the Voice of the Laity,” he told Crux Now, adding that while the diocese has received testimony that the documents have been destroyed and are no longer in circulation, he remains concerned.
“Given the number of people who allegedly had access to them, it is difficult to know if every copy was recovered or deleted,” Zimmerman said.
Karen Caroe, a local resident lobbying for greater transparency about how the movement is being implemented in Las Cruces, is no longer associated with the Voice of the Laity but continues to advocate for the return of Father Christopher Williams to his parish. She says the court cases are not the main issue for parishioners.
“People do not care about a civil lawsuit,” she told Crux Now.
“They care about Father Christopher, and having his name cleared and having him restored to his post,” Caroe said.
Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome
