VERMONT/NEW YORK
Albany Times Union
By Brendan J. Lyons
Published 10:34 pm, Sunday, September 8, 2013
A federal judge in Vermont has rejected a request by the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Warren County man who, as a young altar boy, was taken across state lines and raped by a priest.
The diocese had argued in a fierce court battle that it has no legal ties to the Burlington, Vt., diocese, and therefore could not be sued in that state for the actions of a rogue priest. But Jerome F. O’Neill, an attorney for the victim, used the diocese’s business records, which were turned over under a court order, to show ties between the neighboring dioceses, including documentation that priests from Albany routinely ministered at parishes in Vermont under authorization from Bishop Howard Hubbard.
Barring an appeal, the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge William K. Sessions III puts the case on track for trial and exposes the Albany diocese to potentially having to disclose its clergy-abuse records for the first time.
Kenneth Goldfarb, a spokesman for the Albany diocese, said they disagree with the decision.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.