Now that Lent and Easter are over, Vermont Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne needs to begin a new mission.

In August 2019, Coyne released an incomplete list of Vermont clergy credibly accused of child abuse. 

Curiously, the Diocese of Burlington has never released a list of nuns who were credibly accused of abuse. As a survivor of St. Joseph’s Orphanage, I know that abusive nuns existed. Nuns participated in physical, sexual and emotional abuse of orphanage children. This is well documented, including in a report by former Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan.

While in Burlington recently, Christine Kenneally, author of the just released book ”Ghosts of the Orphanage” and the 2018 Buzzfeed article on abuse at St. Joseph’s Orphanage, revealed that she had asked the local diocese why there was no list of credibly accused nuns. The diocese never responded. 

Why? Kenneally asked a legitimate question. Meanwhile, her book has brought new…