Judge in Catholic bankruptcy recuses over church donations

A federal judge overseeing the New Orleans Roman Catholic bankruptcy recused himself in a late-night reversal that came a week after an Associated Press report showed he donated tens of thousands of dollars to the archdiocese and consistently ruled in favor of the church in the case involving nearly 500 clergy sex abuse victims. U.S. District Judge Greg Guidry initially announced hours after the AP report that he would stay on the case. But amid mounting pressure, he changed course late Friday in a one-page filing that said he was stepping aside “to avoid any possible appearance of personal bias or prejudice.”