St. Joseph’s in Burlington is at center of new book on Catholic orphanage abuses

BURLINGTON (VT)
Vermont Public [Colchester VT]

March 21, 2023

By Christine Kenneally, Brenda DePalma Hannon, and Mikaela Lefrak

[A 45-minute audio interview with Kenneally and DePalma Hannon, with questions and comments from survivors and other listeners.]

A new book documents decades of abuse and neglect at Catholic orphanages in the last century, centering around St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Burlington. We’re talking with the author about her book and with a survivor of the abuse who is pushing to change Vermont’s laws around abuse allegations.

Our guests are:

• Christine Kenneally, author of Ghosts of the Orphanage: A Story of the Mysterious Deaths, a Conspiracy of Silence and a Search for Justice
• Brenda DePalma Hannon, a former resident of St Joseph’s Orphanage and a spokesperson for the St. Joseph’s Orphanage Restorative Inquiry

Kenneally is visiting bookstores in the region promoting her new book, with events including:

• Burlington’s Phoenix Books on Wednesday, March 22 at 7 p.m.
• “A Virtual Evening with Christine Kenneally in conversation with James Carroll” on Monday, March 27 at 7 p.m.