SYRACUSE (NY)
WSTM-TV/CNYCentral.com - NBC 3 [Syracuse NY]
April 9, 2025
By Conor Wight
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Nearly two years after a historic settlement was reached between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse and survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of Central New York priests, those survivors are due to deliver testimony in court. It’s one of the final steps before the money is finally distributed.
“The church was wrong. What the church did was horrific. All the money in the world doesn’t resolve that but saying ‘I’m sorry’ goes a long way to help people like me heal,” Matthew FitzGibbons said.
Syracuse Diocese settlement: $100m for abuse survivors is a step towards justice and healing
FitzGibbons is a survivor. He said that he has spent years working towards healing and forgiveness; it’s why he helped host a service Wednesday evening at LeMoyne College to help survivors of both clergy and other forms of abuse, inviting Syracuse Bishop Douglas Lucia.
“I just find it an extremely painful subject,” Lucia said, “I’ve said to other reporters before, it’s one that actually makes me physically ill.”
Lucia offered a public apology to survivors in 2023 when the settlement was announced, which is rare to hear from a higher up of the Catholic Church. FitzGibbons said that he is grateful for Lucia and is hoping to see similar transparency from other leaders that have instead historically covered for abusive priests for generations.
“I really want the Bishops, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, I want our Pope to just sit there and say ‘I’m sorry,'” FitzGibbons said.
FitzGibbons has never shared the name of his abuser, a priest at the Our Lady of Solace in Syracuse who he said has passed away. He said that he has struggled with his faith, but ultimately found that forgiveness was the best path forward to relieve himself of the traumatic burden he’s carried.
The 2023 settlement was arranged under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy exit plan for the diocese. A U.S. Supreme Court decision on an unrelated case handling settlements set a new precedent in 2024, requiring lawyers to draw up a new settlement plan with the same $100 million promise. The hundreds of survivors involved in this case voted in favor, setting the stage for Judge Wendy Kinsella to approve the bankruptcy exit in late April.
The I-Team asked Lucia if he can confidentially say that no one in the diocese is currently abusing a child.
“I would want to say I hope that’s the case. That I know of? I would not know anything of that matter. But again, … to say with absolute certainty, that’s like having to have a crystal ball but in terms of taking all the preventive measures that we can, we’re certainly doing that,” Lucia said.
Lucia noted that the diocese is continuing to expand and improve background checks for staff. He said that they have seen encouraging results from efforts to train clergy members, volunteers and children alike on how to spot signs of abuse. According to Lucia, there has been an increase in tips and complaints but none have risen to the level of criminal abuse; the only case he is aware of since the settlement was 37-year-old Nathan Brooks, who pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child in the Cortland area late last year.