Msgr. Edward Foster – Diocese of Burlington

| Apr 8, 2020 | Abuser Profiles, Catholic Church

Monsignor Edward Foster 

Diocese of Burlington

Ordained: 1951

Died: 2000

Assigned as follows:

  • 1951-1955      Cathedral (Burlington, VT)
  • 1955-1958      St. Joseph Orphanage (Burlington, VT)
  • 1958-1963      Cathedral (Burlington, VT)
  • 1963-1967      St. Francis Cabrini (West Pawlet, VT); St. Anne (Middletown Springs, VT)
  • 1967-1986      Assistant National Secretary Catholic Near East Welfare Association (NYC, NY)
  • 1986-1990      Deputy Director of External Affairs for Catholic Relief Services 
  • 1990-1991      Director of Development for the Diocese (Burlington, VT); Executive Director for The Center for Applied Research in the Apostola (Washington, D.C)

Summary of Abuse Allegations against Monsignor Edward Foster:

Monsignor Edward Foster worked at St. Joseph Orphanage as a seminarian in the late 1940s. He served as a priest in Vermont for approximately 17 years. In May 1994, his priestly faculties were revoked. He retired one month later in June 1994, and died in April 2000.

In the early 2000s, a judge ordered the Diocese of Burlington to release personnel files for dozens of priests who had been accused of sexual misconduct. According to media reports, those files revealed that Monsignor Foster had recently been sent to the St. Luke Institute in Maryland, where many priests accused of sexual abuse were treated. 

A St. Luke Institute report said Monsignor Foster had “severe sexual issues” and decades of behavior “unbecoming to a priest.” It advised that he should have no unsupervised contact with minors. Bishop Angell, who had previously testified that it was “unthinkable” that a priest would assault a child, oversaw Monsignor Foster’s case.

In August 2019, Monsignor Foster’s name appeared publicly on the Diocese of Burlington’s list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors. One of his alleged victims said he kept the secret that he was repeatedly abused by Monsignor Foster starting in eighth grade for more than 50 years.

Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Burlington.  If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Burlington, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Burlington now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims.  Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.