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June 20, 2008 By John Curran
Catholic sex abuse crisis far from over in Vermont diocese BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Many Roman Catholics believe that the worst of the clergy sex abuse scandal is over. But in the Diocese of Burlington, it's deepening. The case of one cleric, assigned to Vermont parishes in the 1970s despite warnings from an Indiana bishop that the priest was suspected of molesting boys, is battering the local church. Last month, a former altar boy who said the Rev. Edward Paquette molested him repeatedly three decades ago won an $8.7 million jury verdict in a negligence lawsuit against the diocese. Attorneys for the diocese say they have insurance that could cover part of the $8.7 million payout, but they can't find their copy of the policy and have sued the insurer to get it. To make certain that the settlement is paid, a judge put a $10.2 million lien on the diocese's central offices. An appeal is pending. But even if the verdict is overturned, 16 more people who said Paquette molested them in Vermont have filed their own claims. "Clearly, the diocese can't afford 18 more of these $8.7 million awards," said Chuck Zech, a Villanova University economist who researches church finances. It's an expense the Vermont church will have to scramble to avoid. Paquette is not known to have faced criminal charges, but he acknowledged in a 2006 deposition that he was "sexually involved" with boys while in parishes in Massachusetts, Indiana and Vermont. That deposition was for a negligence claim brought by a former Vermont altar boy who reached a nearly $1 million settlement with the Burlington Diocese. The diocese, which serves all the state's 148,000 Catholics, put its individual parishes under charitable trusts two years ago to shield them from what Burlington Bishop Salvatore Matano called "unbridled, unjust and terribly unreasonable assault." The diocese also faces at least six additional negligence cases involving other Vermont clergy. Matano is considering selling property -- including a Lake Champlain site that has been used for more than 20 years as a summer camp for children with cancer. The accuser's attorney in the recent jury trial, Jerome F. O'Neill, called it a publicity stunt to generate sympathy for the diocese. He contends that the church was considering selling Camp Holy Cross before the recent verdict.
Villanova School of Business 2008 Media Report