NEW YORK
Syracuse.com
By Kira Maddox | kmaddox@syracuse.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A well-known, retired Syracuse bishop died today, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse announced.
Rev. James M. Moynihan, the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Syracuse, was 84 years old, the diocese said. He was a bishop for 14 years, starting in 1995.
During his time as bishop, Moynihan was the first bishop to lead prayer processions to Planned Parenthood, raised $42 million through his Heritage Campaign — the largest campaign in diocese history — and created the Catholic Education Fund to help people pay for tuition, according to the diocese announcement of his death.
Moynihan, a Rochester native, had significant hurdles to navigated during his tenure, such as the declining number of clergy in the diocese and an early 2000s sex-abuse scandal.
Moynihan told The Post-Standard | Syracuse.com in 2009 as he prepared to leave his job that the sex-abuse scandal was “a time of great pain and humiliation.”
“Everyone was hurting,” he said. “My job was to be there for everyone, the abused and the abusers.”
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