BishopAccountability.org
	Church Weighs Options As Lawsuit Count Rises By Kevin O'Connor Rutland Herald May 3, 2006 http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20060503/NEWS/60503020/1002 Vermont's Catholic Church, in debt more than $1 million, is studying its financial options upon learning the number of priest misconduct lawsuits it faces has risen to 19. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, although property-rich with 130 parishes statewide, began its current fiscal year with a $127,947 spending deficit, records show. Then last month, the church took out a loan to pay a state-record $965,000 settlement in the first of a string of child sexual abuse lawsuits against its clergy. Diocesan leaders, discussing their financial options behind closed doors, may release a statement as soon as today, although "the filing of these new cases has caused some concerns with our attorneys," diocesan spokeswoman Gloria Gibson said Tuesday. The diocese sparked headlines April 19 when it settled the first of what was then 17 priest misconduct lawsuits against it. As part of the $965,000 agreement — almost seven times the once-record $150,000 the church paid in 2004 to squash one of four past cases — the diocese admitted it knew the priest in question had a history of assaulting boys. Since the settlement, Burlington lawyer Jerome O'Neill, representing all the most recent accusers, has filed three more lawsuits in Chittenden Superior Court and "we're reviewing two or three more," he said Tuesday. All three new lawsuits involve the Rev. Edward Paquette, now 77 and retired in Massachusetts and the subject of the $965,000 agreement. The court has yet to release paperwork on the cases, but O'Neill said one happened after the priest's transfer from Rutland to Montpelier in 1974 and two happened after the priest's transfer to Burlington in 1976. The diocese, having settled the first lawsuit against Paquette, now faces 14 more regarding the priest. O'Neill also has filed one case each involving former Vermont priests James Dunn, 76; James McShane, 65; and George Paulin, 62; and two cases against Alfred Willis, 61. Lawyers for both sides are discussing the possibility of settling the remaining cases before they go to trial. "It continues to be our position that any legitimate victim is entitled to fair and reasonable compensation," the diocese's lawyer, David Cleary of Rutland, said Tuesday. "We would like to find a way to resolve the cases," O'Neill added, "but we haven't gotten to that point yet." The $965,000 settlement, although record shattering, isn't precedent setting, O'Neill said. "We seek an individual amount depending on the particular case," he said. "It may be more, may be less. There is no typical case." But the church is struggling just to pay off its current debt. The diocese reported a $127,947 deficit as of June 30, 2005, then took out loans last month to cover the $965,000 settlement. Vermont Bishop Salvatore Matano is scheduled to meet with lay Catholics at four by-invitation receptions this month in anticipation of the start of the diocese's annual fund-raising drive in June. "As we approach the annual bishop's appeal, please know that the monies raised to support our agencies of care and mercy will not be used for settlements," Matano wrote in the most recent edition of the diocese's newspaper, the Vermont Catholic Tribune. But the diocese has yet to announce how it will erase its red ink. In Boston, where the first molestation reports four years ago sparked a national crisis, the Catholic Archdiocese has paid out $150 million in lawsuit settlements and related costs through property sales and insurance coverage. The Vermont diocese doesn't have insurance. But it does have property, including its Burlington headquarters overlooking Lake Champlain, 130 local churches and 17 schools. The diocese values its total assets at $24.3 million. But because the church doesn't pay taxes, its properties aren't listed at fair market value. As a result, O'Neill has hired an economic expert "to try to give us a more accurate value." Although O'Neill filed his three latest lawsuits after the $965,000 settlement, he said two of the three accusers came forward beforehand. "We may see some more, but I think the largest numbers are well behind us," he said. "These people are really hurting. The publicity has given them the strength to come forward." Contact Kevin O'Connor at kevin.oconnor@rutlandherald.com.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.