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85,000 Sign Petition Calling for Syracuse Bishop to Resign over Abuse Remark

By John O'Brien
Syracuse.com
November 5, 2015

http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/11/survivors_send_85000_signatures_to_vatican_calling_for_syracuse_bishop_to_resign.html

Bishop Robert Cunningham in 2013.

Two men who say they're survivors of child-molesting priests have sent more than 85,000 signatures to the Vatican demanding the resignation of Syracuse's bishop.

The survivors, Kevin Braney and Charles Bailey, cite Bishop Robert Cunningham's characterization of victims in 2011 and his refusal to publicize the names of 11 priests against whom the diocese has found credible allegations of abuse.

Braney said he was hoping for 10,000 people to sign the petition they started two months ago on Change.org. As of this week, 85,193 people from across the country had signed, he said.

Cunningham, in a 2011 court deposition, testified that "the boy is culpable" in cases of child-molesting priests, and referred to child victims as "accomplices." After a story was published in September on Syracuse.com about the deposition, Cunningham said his words gave the wrong impression, and that the victims were never at fault.

"We were hoping for 20,000 to 25,000 at the max," Bailey said of the petition. "That's an impressive number -- 85,000 people agreeing that the bishop should go."

Braney sent a letter to Cardinal Marc Ouellet at the Vatican two weeks ago, asking for a meeting at which he would present the petition. Braney has not received a reply, except certification that the cardinal received the letter.

"Bishop Cunningham fails to acknowledge the matter of priest sexual abuse as a matter of life and death for those who suffered such heinous crimes, and as a matter of public safety for a faithful, uninformed community," the letter said.

About 500 people who signed the petition also wrote comments on Change.org. They list addresses from across the country. Only about a dozen of the commenters said they were from Central New York.

It doesn't matter that many of the people who signed don't live in the diocese, and might not be Catholic, Braney said.

"There's a standard of expected transparency," he said. "There's a standard of how to speak about survivors and their experiences, and clearly that standard is not being met, as shown by 85,000 people saying that what this leader said is not appropriate."

The number of signatures is more than the estimated number of people who regularly attend weekly Mass in the Syracuse diocese, according to the diocese's records. The Syracuse Diocese has 218,700 Catholics, according to a 2014 diocese document. About 77,000 of them regularly attend Sunday Mass.

Braney said he hopes a new tribunal established by Pope Francis will take up the case. The tribunal was established in June to judge bishops accused of covering up or failing to act in cases of child-molesting priests.

Cunningham hasn't received any letters or reaction to the petition from the Vatican or the archbishop of New York, spokeswoman Danielle Cummings said. He's received little response about the petition from people in the diocese, she said.

"On the contrary, the majority of correspondences he has received have been letters offering prayers and support," Cummings said.

Cunningham is aware that most of the people who signed the petition were not from his diocese, she said.

The bishop has "repeatedly clarified and apologized for the words pulled from his 2011 deposition, understanding that his words caused harm to victims and the faithful," Cummings said.

But the premise of the petition is "absolutely false," she said. Cunningham "does not believe children are in any way responsible for being abused."

Cummings cited the diocese's implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Under the program, more than 35,000 diocesan employees who work with children have undergone training and criminal background checks, she said. Those workers include clergy, religious workers and volunteers.

Last week, Cunningham and the seven district attorneys in his diocese announced a written agreement that the diocese would disclose to the prosecutors all accusations of child-molesting priests. The move was prompted by Braney's contact with the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office last year.

 

 

 

 

 




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