Syracuse's Catholic Bishop, Sexual Abuse and the Harm That Words Can Do (editorial)

By Editorial Board
Syracuse.com
September 18, 2015

http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/09/syracuses_catholic_bishop_sexual_abuse_and_the_harm_that_words_can_do_editorial.html

Bishop.jpg Bishop Robert Cunningham presides over the final Mass at Holy Trinity Church on Park Street in Syracuse in February of 2010. (Stephen D. Cannerelli | scannerelli@syracuse.com)

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 credible allegations of child-molesting, have severely damaged his credibility on matters of clergy sexual abuse.

Worse, the bishop's lack of sympathy has immeasurably deepened the pain of all survivors of child sexual abuse, not just the victims of priests. He may have discouraged others from coming forward for justice or for solace. He reinforced the belief that the church hierarchy is more concerned with protecting its priests and its reputation than with protecting its children.

It is difficult for lay people to understand how a clergyman of high office could speak such heartless words, even in the crucible of a legal deposition. How could a child below the age of consent ever be held responsible for abuse visited upon him or her by an adult – a priest, no less? Part of the answer may lie in the bishop's background as a canon lawyer -- an expert in the laws of the church.

Cunningham was being questioned, under oath, by the lawyer for plaintiff Dennis Brennan, as Brennan looked on. Brennan was 13 when he was sexually abused by the Rev. Thomas Neary. After the priest forced the boy to perform sexual acts, the priest made the boy "confess'' his "sins.'' With Neary long dead and the statute of limitations long expired, Brennan sued the diocese to pay for counseling related to the abuse.

Cunningham's spokesman said the bishop used the terms "culpable'' and "accomplice'' according to their meaning in canon law as it pertains to the sacrament of confession. That is when Catholics confess their sins to a priest to "obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins ...''

In his letter, Cunningham said the line of questioning varied from the specific to the general. He was trying to explain that he didn't know what went on in a person's heart and mind. "I tried my best to answer questions and I must admit gave responses that I wish were different," he wrote in the letter.

To these observers, they were the cold responses of a lawyer, not the tender words of a shepherd caring for his flock.

The bishop's poor choice of words might be forgiven but for the church's longstanding approach to treating clergy sexual abuse as a sin, not a crime. For decades, the hierarchy shielded pedophile priests from discovery and prosecution; that all but guaranteed victims would have no legal recourse. The diocese recently defrocked a pedophile priest but Cunningham's controversial decision to shield the names of others undermines the church's efforts to move beyond the scandal. He should divulge their names.

Cunningham has earned the criticism he has received. He faces a hard task repairing the breach with victims of clergy sexual abuse and winning back the confidence of parents that their children are safe in his care. He can begin by being more transparent about his work to prevent and punish clergy sexual abuse, and more sympathetic to the pain of others.