NEW YORK
CNY Central
BY BRETT HALL TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH 2015
The Roman Catholic bishop of Syracuse spent part of the weekend apologizing for comments he made in 2011 about clergy abuse victims.
In a sworn deposition, Bishop Robert Cunningham suggested molestation victims who were abused by priests are partly to blame for what happened to them.
The Syracuse diocese then issued a statement from the bishop saying his words gave the wrong impression and now some survivors of abuse are calling for Cunningham to step down from his post as leader of central New York’s Catholics.
In the 2011 deposition, Cunningham gave sworn testimony that said in part:
“Well, I mean, without knowing the circumstances completely, did the boy encourage, go along with (it) in any way?”
Later Cunningham said “I would not, obviously, what the priest did was wrong. You’re asking me if the young man had any culpability, and I can’t judge that,” said the bishop.
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