BishopAccountability.org
	Judge Tells AG to Release Church Records in Abuse Cases By Sam Hemingway Burlington Free Press [Vermont] November 16, 2005 Church records and documents connected with the state's criminal investigation into claims of past clergy sex abuse by Catholic priests in Vermont can't be kept confidential, a Chittenden County Superior Court has ruled. Judge Ben Joseph, presiding over 13 cases alleging past sexual abuse of children by priests, said the release of the documents is needed to understand the extent of the purported misconduct and what the state's Catholic diocese did about it. "The public interest in the disclosure of information about the alleged sexual abuse suffered by the plaintiff and others, as well as the effective administration of justice, outweighs the desire for confidentiality," Joseph wrote in his ruling released late Monday. Jerome O'Neill, the attorney for the alleged 13 victims, praised the decision. He said until now, the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington has been less than forthcoming in responding to his pre-trial disclosure requests. "We have only had a half-told story to date," O'Neill said Tuesday. "We believe the new documents will show how the diocese permitted known sexual abusers to come to Vermont, moved the abusers from parish to parish, covered up for them and protected them at the expense of its children." Assistant Attorney General Caroline Earle said she was disappointed with Joseph's decision and that her office might ask him to reconsider. "We disagree with his legal analysis that the public interest is served by the disclosure of our entire criminal investigative file," Earle said. "There is an extreme number of very sensitive documents here." Among the diocesan files that Joseph has ordered the state to turn over to O'Neill are clergy medical and personnel records, victim disclosure statements, and letters between the diocese and the state Social and Rehabilitation Services Department. The order does not cover documents connected with alleged abuse at the now-closed St. Joseph's Orphanage. Diocesan attorney William O'Brien acknowledged in an interview that the church provided the Attorney General's Office with all of its abuse-related documents on the understanding that they would be kept confidential. "We are very sensitive about the privacy rights of third parties who aren't part of any litigation and probably won't appreciate having their names out in the public domain," O'Brien said. The state's criminal investigation, conducted in 2002, led to the church's suspension of six active priests. No criminal charges were filed. Eight of the 13 cases pending before Joseph involve claims that former Rev. Edward Paquette groped or molested altar boys at Christ the King Church in Burlington in 1977 and 1978. Paquette, who was eventually stripped of his priestly duties by Bishop John Marshall, has said in an interview that the claims against him are false. O'Brien said Joseph told attorneys during a court hearing Tuesday that he hopes the first of the 13 abuse cases can go on trial in April.