Syracuse Diocese Pays Victims of 4 Priests Not on Sex Abuse List

By Julie McMahon
Post Standard
May 7, 2019

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2019/05/syracuse-diocese-pays-victims-of-4-priests-not-on-sex-abuse-list.html

Stain glass windows at St. John the Baptist Church in Syracuse. Photo by Teri Weaver.

The Catholic Diocese of Syracuse paid settlements to four victims of priests who have not been publicly named to a list of child sex abusers.

The diocese said it previously did not have enough information to act on claims against four priests. The four accusers, however, were among 88 people the diocese invited to participate in an independent compensation program, which found they deserved to be paid settlements.

The Syracuse diocese announced last week it had paid $11 million to 79 victims of child sex abuse suffered at the hands of clergymen. Four of the 79 people accused four priests who have not been publicly named to the diocese’s list of abusive priests, a diocesan official told syracuse.com.

The four priests are no longer active, Chancellor Danielle Cummings said in a statement. The diocese will review the cases again, and could publicly name the priests after an investigation, Cummings said.

After the diocese in December released a list of 57 priests, critics and survivors’ advocates have said names were missing. The diocese acknowledged the list could be incomplete.

Cummings said the diocese has been open to adding names since it decided to release a list. “... Names will be added as credibility is determined,” she said.

Cummings said the diocese is conducting a review of the four cases in light of the independent mediators’ determinations. She said the four claimants were allowed to participate because they had contacted the diocese prior to the program’s start date.

Cummings provided additional statistics about the program via email, in response to questions by syracuse.com. Through Cummings, Bishop Robert Cunningham declined an interview request.

13 priests whose cases resulted in payouts had more than one victim who participated in the program, according to Cummings.

38 priests accounted for claims through IRCP, Cummings said. Most -- 34 -- have been named. The four who have not appeared on the list have not been practicing “for years," according to Cummings.

Of the four priests now under review, three left the priesthood and one retired and is now in poor health, Cummings said.

Diocesan officials have emphasized that the compensation program was designed to be independent. The diocese hired Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros as administrators last year. Their experience in mediation includes running victims’ funds in the aftermath of 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombing. The diocese describes them as having “complete and sole discretion” over the claims referred to them.

In a recent New Yorker magazine article, Biros broke down the criteria her team uses to determine a claim: She said they consider the priest’s history and whether other claims have been made against him. They assess the quality of evidence presented, as well as determinations made by a diocese’s internal review board.

Feinberg said in the article he operates mediation programs using “lenient standards of evidence.” He told The New Yorker that compensation programs should compensate “weak” claims in order to inspire reconciliation and resolution. The article noted the mediators’ standards are often less stringent than a diocese’s review board’s.