The Holy See has removed from the priesthood former Vermont priest, Edward O. Paquette, following a series of allegations of abuse. Edward O. Paquette, 81, who served in the dioceses of Burlington, Vt., Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., and Fall River, has been removed from the clerical state, according to Mark E. Dupont, a spokesman for the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts Live reports.
Dupont said the diocese was making the decision known because Paquette lives in Westfield.
The action means that Paquette can never serve as a priest again, according to Dupont, who said the priest was never assigned to the Springfield diocese and has not served as a priest for several decades.
"This means there is no chance he can serve as a priest again, in any manner; there's no chance, no chance of appeal," Dupont said.
In December 2008, a former altar boy was awarded $3.6 million because the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vt., failed to protect the altar boy from an abusive priest identified as Paquette in the 1970s.
The lawsuit, filed by a 43-year-old Maryland man, did not name Paquette as a defendant. Earlier last year, a separate jury awarded a different plaintiff $8.7 million for abuse allegedly inflicted by Paquette.
Paquette, now in his 80s, has been accused of molesting boys during the 1960s and 1970s, Fox 44 reports.
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