NEW YORK
Syracuse.com

By Editorial Board
on September 18, 2015

Adding insult to abomination, the Catholic bishop of Syracuse testified in 2011 that a child sexually abused by a priest was “culpable” and “an accomplice” in his own victimization.

Bishop Robert Cunningham’s stinging words, spoken as he was questioned for a lawsuit filed by the victim of the abuse, were reported Sept. 13 by Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. They sent a wave of shock and horror through the community of Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

The bishop was quick to issue a public letter attempting to clarify his views. “Victims of abuse are never at fault!” he wrote. “. . . It is obvious my choice of words should have been better.”

But the damage has been done.

Cunningham’s insensitivity in this particular instance, and his unwillingness to divulge the names of priests against whom the diocese has found…