Syracuse Bishop Cunningham on clergy abuse: We had 'a slow awakening' to its severity

By Julie Mcmahon
syracuse.com
December 03, 2018

https://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2018/12/syracuse_bishop.html

Syracuse Bishop Robert Cunningham's choice to release a list of abusive priests is part of a "slow awakening" to the seriousness of child sex abuse, he said in an interview today.

The Catholic Diocese of Syracuse today released a list of 57 priests with credible allegations of child sex abuse against them.

Cunningham in a one-on-one interview discussed how church leaders, including himself, have evolved in their thinking about how the cases should be handled.

He acknowledged that in the past, pedophilia wasn't always treated as a crime. Instead, priests, including some in Syracuse, were often sent to Catholic psychiatric treatment centers such as the Southdown Institute in Canada or St. Luke's in Maryland.

"Not just in the church, but in society at large, there's been an evolving understanding of child sexual abuse, the trauma it causes, the difficulty it causes," Cunningham said. "I think our way of handling it, our way of treating people who have this illness and have committed this crime, has evolved over the years."

Cunningham, who was installed as Bishop of Syracuse in 2009, has served in church administration for decades, including for more than 30 years in the Buffalo diocese.

Critics have accused church leaders of covering up abuses and failing to remove problematic priests.

"I don't think the church ever intended to cover anything up, Cunningham said. "They frequently handled situations as families wanted or as society was doing at that time. I think it's a slow awakening to realize how serious this issue is. And it covers much more than the church."

Starting in 2002, the church began to change its practices for handling reports of abuse. The approval by U.S. bishops of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People meant priests could no longer be sent for treatment and then returned to active ministry.

"For a while it was treated as a sickness that we thought was treatable," Cunningham said. "We found that it wasn't treatable or at least not completely treatable.

The Syracuse diocese in 2002 also agreed to turn over all allegations of child sex abuse to local district attorneys.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said he has reviewed the list released by the diocese multiple times.

The diocese and the DA's office have taken steps to ensure that living priests with accusations against them -- there are nineteen in the Syracuse diocese -- do not pose any danger to children.

The diocese has a compliance officer who works with those priests and checks in with them on a regular basis.

Cunningham acknowledged that at this time, there is little else the diocese or law enforcement can do about them.

"Some live in the area. Some live outside the area," he said. "They are out in the community."

Cunningham said he hopes the release of the list will give some comfort to victims and community members.

He said his decision to release the names was for victims first and foremost.

As of September, a compensation program offered by the diocese had determined there were 85 victims.

Officials from SNAP, a national survivors network of people abused by priests, said in a statement they were grateful to Bishop Cunningham for releasing the names -- but the measure didn't go far enough.

SNAP called on Cunningham to publicize the list permanently online and regularly in parish bulletins. The group asked for the bishop to release additional information about the abuse allegations, including when they were first reported and who was involved in handling the complaints.

"It is important for accountability to find out who knew what, when they knew it, and what they chose to do with that information," the SNAP statement said.

Cunningham previously said part of the reason he had withheld the names of abusive priests was due to some victims' preferences. He said he consulted victims, including some who were against the release of the names, as well as diocesan leaders, including both clergy and members of the laity.

The bishop said he reached his decision after serious reflection and a lot of reading about "what's going on in the church and in the world."

"In making these decisions, it's been done always with the victim in mind, to help the victim," Cunningham said. "We try, certainly in recent months, to re-establish trust with people, good people, faithful Catholic people who find themselves confused and hurt, discouraged."

Cunningham, who is due to retire as bishop in the next several months, said he would remain committed to victims and taking appropriate steps to help them.