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	Ex-priest Voices Regret for Abuse By John M. Guilfoil Boston Globe September 28, 2009 http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/28/ex_priest_voices_regret_for_abuse/ Prays for families of molested boys A defrocked priest apologized for abusing boys over three decades while assigned to Roman Catholic parishes in Westfield, New Bedford, Mansfield, and in two other states. Edward Paquette, 80, who lives in Westfield, gave an interview to the Burlington (Vt.) Free Press in which he said he prays daily for the families of the young boys he molested throughout the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. “I’m very apologetic, and I’m very sorry,’’ he told the newspaper in a story published yesterday. “It’s hard to explain why I did it. I don’t know.’’ He could not be reached for comment last night. Paquette was a priest at parishes in Rutland, Montpelier, and Burlington, Vt., in the 1970s, where he was caught abusing altar boys. He admitted the abuse began in 1955, soon after being ordained into the priesthood, and continued repeatedly over the years. He was not suspended from practicing as a priest until 1978, and the Vatican did not formally defrock him until April. In the intervening years, Paquette was repeatedly caught and repeatedly treated for what psychiatry then called the “sickness of homosexuality.’’ Several times, he was thought to have been cured, only to repeat the offense. In 1963, while assigned to the Fall River diocese, he was found by police in a car with a teenage boy. He was transferred to Indiana, where again, he repeatedly molested boys at three churches in six years. When caught, he was ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment, including electroshock therapy. In 1972, a bishop in Vermont was convinced Paquette was cured and brought him to Rutland where he molested boys at parishes in three cities there. In May 2008, a former Burlington altar boy who was a victim of Paquette’s abuse was awarded $8.7 million from the church. The diocese appealed the judgment, partly because the church said it might not be able to pay the judgment. Another case, involving Paquette a few months later, led to a mistrial after three days of deliberations. “I feel badly about that, but there’s nothing I can do,’’ Paquette told the Free Press. “I don’t have the finances to help.’’ One of Paquette’s victims, Michael Gay of South Burlington, told the newspaper he is still not healed from Paquette’s abuse. He said the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington was wrong in not warning people about Paquette’s history before he came to Vermont. Gay settled an abuse case he brought against the Burlington diocese in 2004 for $950,000. In the interview with the Free Press, Paquette also admitted he even molested his first cousin, who was an alter boy in a Westfield parish. The cousin, Ron Paquette, had not spoken with Paquette in nearly 50 years, but the two recently reconciled. Ron Paquette arranged the interview with the Free Press, the paper reported. Material from the Associated Press was included in this report. John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com
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