Former Albany bishop accused of molesting boy in the 1970s: suit

The Bobster

Senior News Editor since 2004
https://nypost.com/2021/03/19/ny-bishop-howard-hubbard-accused-of-molestation-in-1970s-suit/

Former Albany bishop accused of molesting boy in the 1970s: suit
By Bernadette Hogan and Priscilla DeGregory
March 19, 2021 | 3:43pm | Updated

hubbard-1.jpg

This is the seventh such lawsuit leveling allegations against retired Bishop Howard Hubbard. Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany


A former Catholic bishop in Albany has been accused of molesting an 11-year-old boy at a carnival more than 40 years ago, according to new court papers.

It’s the seventh such lawsuit leveling allegations against retired Bishop Howard Hubbard.

Hubbard’s latest accuser — now an adult who filed suit anonymously — was volunteering at a carnival fundraiser for the Clifton Park church St. Edward’s in the summer of 1977 when he was sexually abused, says the Albany Supreme Court lawsuit filed last week.

The accuser — who came from a devout Catholic family — went to get cups from a storage room when Hubbard told him to join him in the rectory, the court papers allege.

Hubbard, who was wearing his priestly garb, then “sexually assaulted and abused” the boy, the documents say.

Hubbard, in a statement issued to The Post through a spokeswoman Friday, denied the allegation.

“I pray for the anonymous individual who filed this lawsuit that he will know the healing and peace of God’s love and will find the justice and closure he seeks,” Hubbard said. “I know with absolute certainty that I did not abuse him because I know with absolute certainty that I have never abused a child or an adult, sexually or in any other way.”

The accuser was able to sue thanks to the New York Child Victims Act — which allows people alleging childhood abuse to bring claims regardless of statutes of limitation. These types of claims are being allowed to be filed during a two-year period set to expire in August.

Hubbard, now 82, was first publicly targeted by accusations in 2019, spurring an investigation by the church. That probe is currently paused while the civil cases against Hubbard play out, the Albany Diocese said.

Hubbard’s lawyer, Anne Hurley, questioned why it took so long for this victim to come forward.

“The bishop’s feeling about this individual is that obviously he’s a troubled person,” Hurley told The Post. “If he is a victim of abuse, it is not at the hands of Bishop Hubbard.

“He misidentified his abuser, if the abuse did occur.”

Hurley said Hubbard has been “a champion of these victims” going back to 1993, when he started an outreach program for victims of sexual abuse.

The Diocese of Albany said in a statement, “Bishop Edward Scharfenberger takes all allegations of abuse seriously and is committed to uncovering the truth without fear or favor.

“Bishop Hubbard has maintained that he has never abused a child and enjoys the presumption of innocence throughout the civil and canonical proceedings.”
 












New York Archdiocese goes to court to block probe of sex abuse involving Bishop Howard Hubbard​



By
Isabel Vincent


September 3, 2022 12:40pm
Updated





Howard Hubbard served in the Albany Archdiocese from 1977 through 2014.
Howard Hubbard served in the Albany Archdiocese from 1977 through 2014.







The Archdiocese of New York has gone to court to keep under wraps hundreds of pages of records involving an Albany bishop accused of sexually abusing children.
The records pertaining to Howard Hubbard, who served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany between 1977 and 2014, are being sought in connection with a lawsuit brought against him and another former priest. Both have been accused of numerous child sex abuse claims, according to an Albany Times Union report
Hubbard has vigorously denied the allegations, and the former priest — Francis Melfe — is now dead.
The records were created under disciplinary procedures known as “Vos Estis” that were mandated by Pope Francis in 2019 to govern the investigations of child sexual abuse allegations against bishops or other church superiors, the newspaper reported Saturday.
Howard has fiercely denied the accusations.Hubbard has fiercely denied the accusations.complicitclergy.com Hubbard pictured during a service.Hubbard pictured during a service.Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany
The Archdiocese is seeking to block their release in New York State Supreme Court, arguing they are protected under the First Amendment.
 
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