Burlington, Vt., May 18, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Bishop Salvatore Matano of Burlington has decided to place the state’s 128 parishes in charitable trusts in order to shield them from the cost of 19 priest misconduct lawsuits against the diocese.
His decision drew protests from the national lay organization Voice of the Faithful, which called the action "fraudulent, deceitful and irresponsible."
The bishop defended his decision to the Rutland Herald, saying that it was a solution that accommodated both the child abuse victims and Vermont's 118,000 practicing Catholics.
"I want to reach out to victims, but I also have to be conscious of the people in the pews," the bishop told the newspaper. "It's certainly just to ask the church to be accountable, but is it just to destroy parishes, schools and other agencies of care to do so?"