Recently retired New York Cardinal Edward Egan expressed skepticism over sexual abuse allegations against priests when he was a Connecticut bishop a decade ago, saying he found it "marvelous" that so few priests had been accused over the years, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday.

The files, including two depositions of Egan, were made public by a Connecticut court, which unsealed documents in lawsuits filed by 26 people against six priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport. The lawsuits were settled in 2001. Five of the priests were eventually banned from the ministry and one died.

"These things happen in such small numbers," Egan said in a 1999 deposition. "It's marvelous when you think of the hundreds and hundreds of priests and how very few have even been accused, and how very few have even come close to having anyone prove anything. So it is not a commonplace, by any means at all. It's a unique and unexpected occurrence."

The diocese, which covers some of the wealthiest towns in the country as well as Bridgeport, Connecticut's largest city, has paid out a total of nearly $38 million to settle abuse claims over the years involving allegations by more than 60 people who said they had been molested by priests.

The church had long fought news organizations to keep the material under seal, arguing unsuccessfully that the documents were subject to religious privileges under the First Amendment.

Jason Tremont, one of the attorneys for the clergy abuse victims, said the documents "confirm the mishandling and cover-up of sex abuse claims" by Egan and his predecessor, Bishop Walter Curtis, who died in 1997.

"I believe that Bishop Egan was aware _ when he took over and during his tenure _ of these complaints, yet in some circumstances let the priests continue and was very aggressive in his defending of these cases and re-victimizing the victims," Tremont said.

The New York Archdiocese said Tuesday that Egan had "aggressively investigated" all allegations of abuse. Four priests were sent to a top psychiatric institution for treatment and expert evaluation.

In his 1999 deposition, Egan defended his decision to let one priest retain his position despite the accusations against him, saying there was no reason to remove him while the investigation was ongoing.

"We had indications from psychiatrists that he was comporting himself appropriately, and our decision was to continue until we came to further conclusions because of other indications," he said.

The Bridgeport Diocese said details in the documents had already been shared with the victims through their attorneys before the cases were settled and were extensively reported on by the news media.