Click here for Part 2: Defending the Church

It was a warm and sunny day in California in 1991 when a much younger Jerome O’Neill found himself sitting down with a woman who revealed to him that she had been abused by a Vermont Roman Catholic Priest. Work on another case had brought him there, and through a series of coincidences he had found an opening in his schedule to meet with her. Little did he suspect that this meeting would thrust him into the spotlight and open the doors on a scandal that would leave the Vermont Catholic community in a state of shock and disbelief.

“I remember thinking ‘my God…she is telling the truth,’” said O’Neill at a recent interview in his Burlington law office.

The pendulum was thus set in motion. Back in Vermont O’Neill contacted the Vermont Catholic Diocese where he was essentially ignored. Petitions were filed. The news became public. Another victim came forward, and O’Neill started to see a web of abuse far beyond his wildest comprehension.

Some see Jerry O’Neill as a savior, a compassionate champion and voice for the abused who otherwise wouldn’t be able to stand up for themselves. Currently he is representing 27 clients with suits against the Catholic Diocese, and has settled a handful of others. Others view him less favorably. On several occasions he has essentially been accused of wanting the church to release more documents in order to find new clients, an accusation O’Neill finds absurd given the sadness and destruction to a life each case represents.

In any case he is a man that has never backed down from a challenge, and even his enemies can’t deny his flair for justice.

Jerome O’Neill.

A Vermont Boy

O’Neill was born in Burlington VT. His parents took the drive down from Swanton, where they lived, to access the best medical attention offered in Vermont at that time.

He was raised Catholic, and attended St. Anne’s Academy in Swanton. There were 25 kids in his graduating class.

“I was very fortunate to live and grow up in Vermont,” said O’Neill (even though his father’s position in the military did precipitate some time away.) “It was living and being with real people. It’s not as if my high school was affluent with high salaries. It was very middle-class in the very best sense of the word,” he said.

About being raised Catholic O’Neill has nothing but good things to say about the priests he knew as a young man. Later in life, with a divorce from his first wife eminent, O’Neill found himself participating less and less though. Eventually, when things became final, O’Neill and the Catholic Church went their separate ways.

“I don’t begrudge the church in the least though as it relates to its position on divorce,” he said.

O’Neill readily admits that perhaps the biggest thing that changed his life after high school was getting into Georgetown where he majored in Foreign Service and was a classmate of Bill Clinton’s. A fringe benefit of which was celebrating their 25th class reunion at the White House.

Another product of his time at Georgetown was the opportunities it presented for him to travel, including living in Europe for a summer. This is still a passion he has today.

After graduating it was on to Georgetown Law School, then a short time spent in the military as an Army officer during the Vietnam era. “I still visit some of my friends on the wall,” is his only comment when pressed on the subject.

Prior to private practice he clerked for U.S. District Judge Albert Coffrin, after which he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, then U.S. Attorney and lived in Burlington and Rutland for eight and a half years. Much of his free time was absorbed by his duties as an officer in the National Guard where he served for nine years.

Perhaps one of his greatest assets though is that even with all the accolades that accompany a successful career O’Neill never lost sight of his appreciation of plain, real Vermont people with good values and a strong work ethic. Today this description comprises the majority of his clients.

The Church

In late April of 2006 a settlement in a civil lawsuit was reached between Michael Gay of South Burlington and the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The Diocese agreed to pay Gay $965,000, an amount believed to be the largest ever in a priest-abuse case in state history. This number far exceeded other known previous settlements which ranged from $120,000 to $170,000. O’Neill was representing Gay.

At the heart of this case was Father Edward Paquette (originally from Massachusetts).

While there are a handful of priests cited in the various suits, allegations against Paquette make up the lion’s share of the docket. Particularly troubling to many, including O’Neill, is that Paquette was not a first time offender or an unknown predator.

“He had been caught twice in Massachusetts for molestation and suspended there. He then went to a diocese in Indiana where he was caught three times, then Bishop John Marshall, knowing about the other incidents, had him come to Vermont where it appears he molested every boy he could get his hands on from Rutland to Montpelier to Burlington,” said O’Neill.

More troubling though is that even after allegations surfaced, Bishop Marshall allowed Paquette to continue practicing.

‘The Bishops made the mistake of thinking they were the church. It is the people in the pews that make up the church,” said O’Neill.

“It has reinforced for me that the church leaders are men and they are fallible,” he said. “Most think they are the church and set standards and they were wrong. Too many of them were morally corrupt. It’s true, absolutely true, in this diocese and elsewhere. They knew priests were abusing children and they let it happen by moving the priest and not telling.”

“The diocese has debt that it hasn’t paid to these individuals. I would rather see us take it out of their lives but we can’t and the only compensation is money. For most the destruction has been huge and it penetrates their lives. I listen to each of them tell their life story and for most I could tell the issues they have stemming from it. Even the biggest, most rugged man goes to tears when they talk about it,” he said.

When asked why abuse by priests causes such an acute, devastating pain, O’Neill is quick with an answer.

“Who do you trust more than anyone else…your priest. You are taught to trust your parish priest. For an adolescent it is the most confusing thing that can happen to them. They are supposed to be your guide to salvation. I know some individuals who told their parents what was happening and had their mouths washed out with soap. Another was whacked by his parents after saying something, and there was one who was taken back to the priest and made to confess to him. Naturally the priest denied it and thus the priest victimized the child again because the priest knew the child would never be believed.”

O’Neill also points out that almost without fail all of the victims have had their faith robbed from them by the incidents. Likewise they are extremely frustrated by the diocese who in one breath says they care about the victims but in the next puts roadblocks in the way of reaching settlements.

A Stronger Alliance

While for many it is difficult to fathom, O’Neill feels that the church is going to come out of this difficult time stronger than when it went in.

“The most positive thing is the church has had to confront this and make huge changes in abuse reporting policies. Now the likelihood of molestation is drastically reduced. Parents are much more sensitive to it. No longer can it be kept quiet,” he said.

“No longer do we view priests and bishops as moral authorities—they are human with moral defects themselves. It is much more healthy, really. I truly believe the church will come out of this stronger than before once they cleanse themselves of this cancer. The people in the parish didn’t bring this on…their leaders did,” he said.

“Without the lawsuits nothing would have changed. Hitting them in the wallet is what caused that. In the 90’s we didn’t take those steps,” said O’Neill.

When asked where he goes from here O’Neill lightly shrugs his shoulders. “We just have to keep moving forward and help all the people we can,” he said. “I never would have anticipated that there would be that many victims that would need help.”

Perhaps when that day comes, and all the lawsuits are settled, O’Neill will find his own salvation.

Click here for Part 2: Defending the Church