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Syracuse priest list includes 'dozens' of sex abuse cases DA says he can't prosecute
By Julie Mcmahon
The Syracuse diocese's list of abusive priests contains the names of "dozens" of people who can no longer be prosecuted for sex crimes against children, according to Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick. Some of those priests are deceased, the diocese said in a statement Saturday. The list, which will be released Monday morning, includes allegations dating back to the 1950s. New York state's statute of limitations prevents Fitzpatrick from pursuing charges against the others. "The list, if it had one name on it, would be distressing," Fitzpatrick said. "And the fact that it has dozens of names on it, I personally think, is a crisis that is affecting the Catholic Church greater than the Reformation. It is so distressing." Fitzpatrick, who is Roman Catholic, was comparing the clergy sex abuse scandal that has continued to plague the church since it was first exposed in the early 2000s to a time in the 16th Century when Protestants broke from the Catholic Church. While the sex abuse scandal has disrupted his own beliefs about the church as an institution, Fitzpatrick said, he is confident that Syracuse Bishop Robert Cunningham handled cases properly and transparently over the last few years. The prosecutor said that his office initially reviewed the list of abusive priests around 2015 when the diocese signed a "memorandum of understanding" with local district attorneys. At the time, the diocese agreed to report all abuse claims to law enforcement. Fitzpatrick said that the diocese has communicated with him since then to discuss cases and allegations, but that no new credible findings had been made, and no additional names had been added to the list. Earlier this year, the diocese also agreed to turn over all information pertaining to allegations of clergy sex abuse to New York's attorney general. "The list that will be disclosed tomorrow, which I've seen, is the same list provided to us years ago," Fitzpatrick said. "There's nothing new [the diocese] is disclosing to the attorney general that hasn't been disclosed to us." Fitzpatrick said in each case involving a living priest in Onondaga County, his office has reviewed allegations. The DA said apart from conducting an investigation and ensuring a priest does not pose a danger to children, the statute of limitation prevents him from pursuing the cases in a criminal court. That's why Fitzpatrick supports changing criminal statutes, he said, to give him more time to prosecute older cases and people in positions of authority who mishandled the cases or failed to report them. Fitzpatrick supports the passage of the Child Victims Act and Victims Empowerment Act. For now, his focus has been on where the priest is located now, if any children could be exposed to danger, what the nature and credibility of the allegations are, and how to best assist victims, Fitzpatrick said. Fitzpatrick confirmed the diocese's statement that no priest with a credible allegation against him is active in the Syracuse diocese, which spans seven counties. Fitzpatrick said none of the living priests on the list works with or has access to children except in public settings, which law enforcement can do nothing to prevent. The DA emphasized that the diocese has been transparent and appropriate in its handling of these cases in recent years, especially under Bishop Cunningham, but that wasn't always the case. In some cases, he said, allegations were not disclosed immediately to law enforcement and some predator priests were left "in plain sight." "I don't think there's any question that historically the Syracuse diocese, along with perhaps every other diocese in America and maybe the world, was derelict in eradicating this and nipping it in the bud." Contact: jmcmahon@syracuse.com
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