Catholic faith on trial
Cassie Lathrope | Executive Editor | clathrope@mail.smcvt.edu
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In a letter to the faithful on Oct. 1, Bishop John J. McDermott said the decision was due to a “significant number of lawsuits filed by victims of past sexual abuse by members of the clergy.”
The letter said since 2010, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington has settled 60 lawsuits regarding claims of abuse for more than $30 million.
The diocese was required to sell several properties to cover various lawsuit settlements, Bishop McDermott said in the letter.
It filed for bankruptcy because it is still facing more than 25 additional legal claims related to abuse that occurred between 40 and 60 years ago.
Father Michael Carter of St. Michael’s College explained filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy will allow the diocese to settle each individual claim with the proper resources.
“I think there’s a fear or a risk that if it’s sort of adjudicated on a case by case basis…the diocese may just run out of financial assets before everybody has been able to have their day in court,” said Father Carter. “Hopefully everyone that has a need and has a claim to justice can receive it in some way, shape, or form.”
Dioceses across the country face increased financial strain because of settlements awarded to victims of sexual abuse.
According to the LA Times, on Oct. 17, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles settled recent claims for a payout of $880 million bringing their total payout to over $1.5 billion.
Father Carter said that in this era it can be difficult at times to be a Catholic priest due to the negative perception some have of priests.
“Whatever struggles, issuInes, or difficulties people have had with the church, can be sort of reflected onto me,” said Father Carter. “And so it’s incumbent on me to try to present something different, hopefully present something better.”
Bishop McDermott said he is hopeful the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing will not affect the 63 individual parishes under the diocese.
“It is my hope that the reorganization process will have little impact upon our parishes and ministries; however, I cannot guarantee that these separate entities will not have to contribute to the final reorganization plan,” said Bishop McDermott.
Father Charlie Granges said he is unsure how this bankruptcy will impact the three parishes under the Catholic Diocese of Burlington he oversees in Essex, Vt.: Holy Family, St. Lawrence, and St. Pius.
“We don’t really know the ramifications of it yet,” said Father Granges. “The direct parishes…they were put into what was called a charitable trust a number of years ago, so they think the parishes are protected, but it’s all very uncertain.”
Father Carter said that as St. Michael’s College is a private institution, independent from the Catholic Diocese of Burlington, it will not be financially impacted by the bankruptcy filing.
“The Society of St. Edmund would be a religious order, so it sort of has its own leadership structure and its own sort of rules,” said Father Carter. “So things that affect the Diocese of Burlington, specifically financially, would not have an impact that way on St. Michael’s College.”
Father Granges added that church attendance has decreased over the years. “I’m not too sure this present bankruptcy is affecting our church tenants, but we’ve had a dwindling in church attendance for the last couple of years,” he said.. “It’s not just the Catholic church, but all churches in Vermont.”
Father Carter said he and his colleagues have not noticed any differences in recent church attendance, and think this may be because cases of abuse in the Catholic church have been surfacing for years.
“To be honest with you, in a way, this situation is not new,” said Father Carter. “The cases are historic in terms of it was perpetrated by people and leaders that were in place some time ago, which is not to wash hands of responsibility. But I think the direct perpetrators of it are no longer in sort of positions of authority, which, of course, is a good thing.”
Both priests as well as Bishop McDermott in his “letter to the faithful” made it very clear that since these occurrences, the Catholic church has put in many safety precautions and guidelines to decrease the likelihood of future sexual abuse cases.
“You know Diocese of Burlington, if they get a call from someone complaining about a priest or catechist, the first thing they do is they tell the people to call the police,” said Father Granges. “They want the investigation to take place by the police and they no longer want to even get involved in that element of it”
Despite the current financial situation, Father Granges still has hope in his religion and people. “I don’t think this is the end of the church, but it’s a dark, you know, dark center of the church.”