VERMONT
Burlington Free Press
MIKE DONOGHUE, Free Press Staff Writer December 22, 2014
Auxiliary Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Indianapolis has been named the new Bishop for the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese in Vermont.
The 56 year-old Massachusetts native has been serving in Indiana for four years. Coyne, who was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in June 1986, served in Massachusetts for much of his religious life.
In Vermont Bishop Coyne will oversee the state’s largest religion — about 120,000 Catholics spread among about 120 churches. There are 13 Catholic schools, including high schools in South Burlington and Rutland. The diocesan headquarters are on Joy Drive in South Burlington. …
Coyne became well-known in Massachusetts when the Boston archdiocese in 2002 appointed him the primary spokesman in the wake of numerous priest sex abuse cases and the resulting lawsuits and trials. He held that post for three years.
Vermont has had its share of priest sex abuse cases. When Matano arrived in 2005 he inherited many of the legal problems that stemmed from lack of action by his predecessors, primarily Bishop John A. Marshall, who served Vermont from 1971 to 1991.
Matano initially did not want to settle many of the sex abuse cases. After losing some costly civil trials, the diocese eventually agreed to a $17.65 million out-of-court payout in May 2010 to settle lawsuits with 26 victims alleging long-ago child molesting. The diocese also agreed to undisclosed amounts to settle three other cases that were on appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court.
Matano always said the money would not come from parish members and eventually the Burlington diocese began to sell some of its property in an effort to pay the settlement. The diocesan headquarters on North Avenue was eventually sold for $10 million in January 2011 to Burlington College. Camp Holy Cross in Colchester, a 26-acre parcel on Lake Champlain was sold for $4 million in January 2012. Camp Tara, a short distance away, had sold for $2.2 million in 2004.
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