Date: 14 Tammuz 5592
From: Rabbi Moshe Sofer
To: Unknown recipient
Charity administrators sought to exchange broken silver Torah ornaments with another society that would sell them for secular use. The Chasam Sofer rules that Torah ornaments can be desacralized, but only through a two-step process: first redeeming them by transferring their sanctity onto money, then releasing that money for secular use through authorization of the seven city elders in public assembly.
Source: Shu"t Chasam Sofer OC §38