The victims of child-molesting priests are partly to blame for their own abuse, the bishop of Syracuse said in a sworn deposition that revealed his views on the church's sex abuse scandal.
The bishop's testimony was startling to a former Catholic priest who has written extensively on sexuality in the church.
"That is so absurd," said Richard Sipe of La Jolla, Calif. "It's like saying a child who's beaten is responsible for the beating. It's prehistoric. I can't believe a bishop said this."
The Catholic Church holds that the age of reason is 7 years old, but that pertains to deciding what between right and wrong, Sipe said. When a priest tells a child that having sex with him is right, the child should not be held responsible, Sipe said.
"But in 2015, after a couple decades' worth of child sexual abuse litigation, after supposedly having the zero tolerance policy come into effect in the U.S. and for the various popes professing that there's going to be a new way and a new day, this is honestly a huge setback," Wall said.
"It's disgusting," Braney said. "It implies the boy has power in that relationship."
When he was an altar boy in Manlius, Braney was taught that the priest was the closest person to God, he said.
"It's almost worse than the abuse itself," he said of the idea that the victim is partly to blame.
The survivors seeking Cunningham's resignation include Charles Bailey, who said he was also a child victim of Neary's.
About 10 years ago, Bailey asked then-Bishop James Moynihan whether the church held children victims partly responsible for sexual abuse from priests.
The bishop said it did, according to Bailey.
"Moynihan said that right to my face – 'The age of reason is 7, so if you're at least 7 you're culpable for your actions,' " Bailey said. "That kind of floored me."
Moynihan is too ill to be interviewed, Cummings said.
Bailey and another survivor of child-molesting priests, Kevin Braney, plan to start an online petition seeking Cunningham's resignation. They'll plan to give it to Pope Francis when he visits New York City in two weeks.
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http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/09/victims_partly_to_blame_in_priest_sex-abuse_cases_syracuse_bishop_testified.html
The bishop's testimony was startling to a former Catholic priest who has written extensively on sexuality in the church.
"That is so absurd," said Richard Sipe of La Jolla, Calif. "It's like saying a child who's beaten is responsible for the beating. It's prehistoric. I can't believe a bishop said this."
The Catholic Church holds that the age of reason is 7 years old, but that pertains to deciding what between right and wrong, Sipe said. When a priest tells a child that having sex with him is right, the child should not be held responsible, Sipe said.
"But in 2015, after a couple decades' worth of child sexual abuse litigation, after supposedly having the zero tolerance policy come into effect in the U.S. and for the various popes professing that there's going to be a new way and a new day, this is honestly a huge setback," Wall said.
"It's disgusting," Braney said. "It implies the boy has power in that relationship."
When he was an altar boy in Manlius, Braney was taught that the priest was the closest person to God, he said.
"It's almost worse than the abuse itself," he said of the idea that the victim is partly to blame.
The survivors seeking Cunningham's resignation include Charles Bailey, who said he was also a child victim of Neary's.
About 10 years ago, Bailey asked then-Bishop James Moynihan whether the church held children victims partly responsible for sexual abuse from priests.
The bishop said it did, according to Bailey.
"Moynihan said that right to my face – 'The age of reason is 7, so if you're at least 7 you're culpable for your actions,' " Bailey said. "That kind of floored me."
Moynihan is too ill to be interviewed, Cummings said.
Bailey and another survivor of child-molesting priests, Kevin Braney, plan to start an online petition seeking Cunningham's resignation. They'll plan to give it to Pope Francis when he visits New York City in two weeks.
more
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/09/victims_partly_to_blame_in_priest_sex-abuse_cases_syracuse_bishop_testified.html
