Vermont Catholic Diocese Settles All Past Clergy Abuse Lawsuits For Over $20M

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, the diocese that covers the state of Vermont, has settled the 26 pending clergy sex abuse cases that have been filed against the Diocese for a total of $17.65 million. Three other cases that have gone to trial and are currently on appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court were also settled for undisclosed amounts-- said by Barre Montpielier (VT) Times Argus to total at least $3 million. The settlements were announced in a letter (full text) yesterday posted on the Diocese website. To pay for the settlements, the Diocese will sell its 32-acre headquarters overlooking Lake Champlain, and will move to other offices. It will also sell 26-acre Camp Holy Cross located on Colchester's Malletts Bay. In the meantime it has obtained an interim loan using the properties as collateral and has depleted its unrestricted reserves to cover the costs.