Bishop Pelotte hospitalized for head injuries sustained in a fall

Published: 2007-07-26

GALLUP, N.M. (CNS) -- Bishop Donald E. Pelotte of Gallup was listed in serious but stable condition July 26 at a Phoenix hospital after sustaining head injuries in a fall at his New Mexico home several days earlier. Surgery that had been scheduled for that day was postponed. Bishop Pelotte, 62, was discovered at his home with the injuries July 23, when a member of the diocesan staff went to check on him after the bishop did not keep scheduled meetings that morning. Dot Teso, director of the Catholic People's Foundation, the diocese's development arm, told Catholic News Service in a phone interview July 26 that, although Bishop Pelotte has been in intensive care at John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital, he has been conscious. She said the diocesan staff was being told that the bishop's prognosis for full recovery was good. The Farmington Daily Times newspaper quoted Father James P. Hoy, finance director for the diocese, as saying there was no indication Bishop Pelotte's injuries are life-threatening, "but they are serious."

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