BURLINGTON (VT)
WPTZ, NBC-5 [Plattsburgh NY and Burlington VT]
May 13, 2025
By Molly Ormsbee
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington filed for bankruptcy in October 2024, with at least 30 unsettled cases of abuse.
A hearing has been scheduled for abuse survivors to deliver victim impact statements against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vermont. It’s the second of two hearings scheduled by a bankruptcy judge after the diocese filed for Chapter 11 back in October 2024.
The latest court records were filed on Monday. According to the Diocese, 118 additional survivors have come forward with claims of abuse as of April 4. That was the deadline the court had set for survivors to file proofs of claim after Chapter 11 was filed.
In April, a judge granted a request to schedule two opportunities for survivors to present impact statements. To date, more than 60 cases have been settled against the Diocese. By the time the church filed for bankruptcy, at least 30 cases remained active. According to court documents, Bishop John McDermott raised concern that the diocese didn’t have the assets to fairly compensate each survivor.
Bishop John McDermott has said it’s important that survivors have their pain acknowledged as part of the proceedings in the court. However, none of the statements will be considered evidence, and they will not be transcribed. The parties also aren’t allowed to respond to the statements made in the two-hour sessions.
The first hearing was held in Rutland on May 2. The second hearing has been scheduled for May 14 in Burlington. Other Diocesan bankruptcy courts have created opportunities for survivors to share their stories through the Chapter 11 process. Last month, the diocese of Syracuse scheduled a six-hour hearing for survivor impact statements. The diocese of Sacramento scheduled a hearing in March, and the archdioceses of San Francisco and Baltimore both heard survivor statements last year.