ST. PAUL — Lawyers for alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests said a video deposition released Thursday from a former top official in the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese shows that he minimized the problem and refused to cooperate with police and internal investigators.

The Rev. Kevin McDonough gave his sworn testimony last week. He was the archdiocese’s vicar general for 17 years until 2008 and served for several years as its point man for handling complaints of clergy misconduct until September.

“Kevin McDonough, here in this deposition and throughout his time here, was a master of half-truths, which I believe are whole lies, and are often far more dangerous than an outright lie,” attorney Mike Finnegan said at a news conference.