VT Catholic Diocese Suffers in Wake of Lawsuit, by Anya Huneke, NECN, May 14, 2008

VT Catholic Diocese Suffers in Wake of Lawsuit

By Anya Huneke
NECN
May 14, 2008

http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/VT-Catholic-Diocese-suffers-in-wake-of-lawsuit/1210799217.html#

[with video]

Burlington, VT - The Vermont Catholic Diocese is now faced with a landmark fine. On Tuesday, a jury ordered the church to pay nearly $9 million dollars to a victim of clergy sex abuse.

NECN's Anya Huneke has more on this potentially precedent-setting case.

Script:

Jeff Wheel came to work Wednesday morning with a myriad of questions and concerns on his mind. He - and many other Catholics in Vermont - were still digesting news of a landmark verdict in Superior Court Tuesday. The court ordered the state's Roman Catholic Diocese to pay $8.7 million dollars in damages to a man who was sexually abused as a child by a Vermont priest.

Attorney for the Diocese Tom McCormick says the message, comes with an unreasonable punishment - one he worries his client cannot afford.

Tom: "Money of this size is hard to come up with.This is not a rich institution...It's an institution that lives on people's charity."

Exiting the court Tuesday, Bishop Salvatore Matano called this a sad and tragic moment in our history. He expressed regret towards the plaintiff, but also spoke gravely about the financial strain the verdict - which will be appealed - could put on the Diocese.

Bishop: "Any judgment of this amount places before the Diocese an extremely serious challenge."

The concerns of the Diocese extend well beyond this multi-million dollar verdict. Two-dozen other priest abuse lawsuits are still pending, and

the majority of them involve Father Paquette-- the priest at the center of this trial.

Tom: "There's a legal question there - as to what extent the decision in this case affects other cases."

McCormick says the Diocese hopes to reach settlements in the pending lawsuits because another verdict like this could be catastrophic. Just how catastrophic the Diocese isn't saying...

Times are already challenging for the Catholic Church, Father Dan White says, but he worries less about finances and more about the public's faith in the church. He knows parishioners have concerns as Jeff Wheel does.

Wheel: "These judgments are going to take their toll."

But the Diocese says - in fact - each parish is its own entity, and should be able to survive on its own strength.