Vermont Catholic Diocese Tries To Shield Assets

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is placing the assets of each of Vermont's 130 parishes in a separate charitable trust. Today's Rutland Herald reports that the move is an attempt to shield parish assets from claims against the Diocese in priest sexual abuse cases. The Diocese has settled several of those cases, and the lawyer representing 19 men accusing priests of prior sexual abuse says the charitable trust arrangement is a violation of Vermont's fraudulent conveyance law.