BURLINGTON (VT)
WPTZ, NBC-5 [Plattsburgh NY and Burlington VT]
June 25, 2026
By Sophia Venturo
The committee representing abuse claimants in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington’s bankruptcy case is asking a federal judge to bring Vermont parishes, Catholic schools and hundreds of millions of dollars in parish related assets into mediation.
Lawyers for survivors filed a 66 page motion on Thursday. News outlet VTDigger first reported the filing.
In a court filing on Wednesday, a committee which represents dozens of abuse claimants, asked the bankruptcy court to add diocesan parishes, Rice Memorial High School and Mount St. Joseph High School as mediation parties.
The attorneys argued that the Diocese’s parishes and the two high schools are not legally separate from its operations.
The filing also alleges that the Diocese created individual trusts in 2006 and transferred approximately $500 million in assets into them to shield property from creditors, including survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
The committee said excluding the parishes and schools from mediation would prevent the parties from reaching a comprehensive settlement.
The Diocese has acknowledged as credible allegations of sexual abuse against 40 priests. Most of the alleged abuse occurred between 1950 and 1980, and more than 40 cases were settled between 2006 and 2013.
When the Diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2024, Bishop John McDermott said it did not have sufficient assets to fully compensate survivors. At the time, about 30 lawsuits remained active. Court filings last May said another 118 survivors had come forward with abuse claims.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is one of dozens of Catholic dioceses across the United States that have sought bankruptcy protection in recent years.
The Diocese had not responded to the committee’s filing as of Thursday afternoon.