Vermont diocese seeks to withdraw bankruptcy filing, citing legal costs, lack of progress
The Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, is seeking to withdraw its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, two years after filing to address sexual abuse claims. Bishop John McDermott cited stalled settlement talks, more than $2 million in legal and administrative costs, and concern that expanding the case will drive costs higher. The diocese says no funds have yet gone to claimants and argues that mounting expenses could reduce compensation and delay resolution. A hearing on the diocese’s motion is scheduled for Dec. 8; the dispute includes whether parishes and schools may be held financially liable in settling abuse claims.
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The Diocese of Burlington is asking to end its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, saying negotiations over sexual-abuse claims have stalled and the continuing proceedings are costing too much. The request is pending; a hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8.
Bishop John McDermott said the diocese and the creditors’ committee remain far from an agreement that would compensate claimants and allow the diocese to move forward. He apologized to survivors and said the diocese had made a good-faith effort, but its best offer was not accepted.
The diocese reports that legal and administrative expenses have exceeded $2 million, with no money yet awarded to claimants through the case. It argues that the expenses are consuming funds that could otherwise go toward survivors, other creditors and diocesan operations.
The costs include legal representation for both the diocese and the creditors’ committee. The diocese says expenses could grow further after an August ruling allowed survivors to pursue adding Catholic parishes and schools to the settlement process, potentially broadening the litigation and the question of which affiliated entities may be financially responsible.
In its motion, the diocese said mediation and negotiations had not produced the compromises needed for a global settlement, and that it saw no realistic prospect of confirming a plan. It argued that continuing the case would increase costs and delay compensation.
The diocese filed for bankruptcy two years ago, when it faced 31 lawsuits; the number had grown to more than 100 by 2025. Before filing, it had settled 20 cases for more than $4.5 million, using operating funds and unrestricted investments, according to a 2024 affidavit by McDermott.
Church accountability, survivor compensation, and institutional responsibility
Catholic teaching frames church accountability, survivor compensation, and institutional responsibility as parts of one response to abuse: listen to survivors, acknowledge the harm, pursue justice and reparation, hold authority accountable, and prevent further abuse. Compensation matters, but it cannot by itself repair the damage or replace truth, care, and reform.
Pope Leo XIV describes justice within the Church as requiring the purification of relationships and structures that foster abuse of power, lack of transparency, or inequality. He identifies listening to victims, acknowledging harm, making reparation, and preventing recurrence as integral to that work. He also calls for regular assessments of ministerial responsibilities as means of learning and correction.
This makes accountability both personal and institutional. Individuals who commit abuse must answer for their actions; Church leaders and institutions must also examine how failures to hear reports, respond adequately, or safeguard people contributed to further harm. Pope Francis explicitly apologized for leaders’ failures to respond to reports, noting that those failures caused additional suffering and put other minors at risk.
Accountability should therefore involve more than a statement of regret or a penalty for an offender. A 2004 scholarly study argues that punishment and damages can help restore a sense of justice, but do not necessarily repair the wider injury to trust in priests and Church authority.
The supplied Church teaching calls for “just reparation,” but it does not set out a universal formula for calculating compensation or specify a single claims process. That leaves practical questions—such as how payments should be assessed, funded, or administered—to particular circumstances and applicable legal processes.
Still, the moral direction is clear: reparation must take survivors’ actual harm seriously. Pope Leo’s call for listening and acknowledgment alongside reparation indicates that financial compensation should not be treated as a substitute for hearing survivors or recognizing what happened. Pope Benedict XVI likewise recognized that abuse violates dignity and betrays trust, and that many victims were not listened to when they spoke.
Nor should payment be presented as requiring a survivor to forgive, reconcile, or resume participation in Church life. The supplied sources affirm the importance of healing and reconciliation, but also recognize the gravity of survivors’ suffering and the difficulty some experience in entering a church or forgiving. They do not establish that compensation is conditional on forgiveness.
The Church’s responsibility is not discharged by addressing past cases alone. Pope Francis called for a culture that prevents abuse and prevents its concealment or continuation; the Synod likewise called for care for victims, preventive measures, acknowledgment of shortcomings, and efforts to rebuild trust. Pope Leo adds that Church authority is meant to serve the People of God, and that structures and the administration of ecclesial resources should support the Church’s mission rather than obscure responsibility.
These principles imply that credible institutional action should be judged not only by what the Church says, but by whether survivors are heard, harm is acknowledged, reparation is pursued, responsibilities are reviewed, and safeguards are strengthened. The available sources establish those moral priorities, but do not provide enough detail to assess any particular compensation plan or determine legal liability in a specific case.