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Diocese names priests being removed
Hubbard announces six priests being withdrawn from ministry

By Phil Baly

ALBANY, N.Y., June 28 - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany Friday disclosed the names of six priests who are being permanently removed from ministry because of what it calls "substantiated incidents of sexual abuse of minors."

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BISHOP HOWARD HUBBARD reportedly met with the diocese's priests Thursday and informed them who would no longer be in the ministry.
The six priests are:
Rev. David G. Bentley, currently on inactive status
Rev. John P. Bertolucci, retired
Rev. Edward Leroux, retired and in residence at St. Mary's, Glens Falls
Rev. Joseph A. Mancuso, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Schenectady
Rev. Edward C. Pratt, pastor of Corpus Christi, Ushers
Rev. James J. Rosch, pastor of St. Joseph's, Fort Edward

According to the diocese, in each case the sex abuse took place anywhere from 15 to 35 years ago and no reoccurrence have ever been alleged.

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No decision has been made as to whether steps will be taken to remove the men from the priesthood.
This announcement is a result of the recent national bishops conference in Dallas when the American Catholic Church vowed to come clean on this scandal, which has been brewing for decades. Since the conference, this process has been repeated in Catholic dioceses across the country.
In a news release, Hubbard said that he felt the policy of withdrawing any offender retroactively as well as prospectively was "reasonable, given the overriding necessity of restoring the credibility of the Church and people's confidence in their priests."
However, the bishop also said he felt "deeply saddened that these priests, who repented of their sins many years ago and showed that repentance by decades of holy and productive ministry, will never be able to function as priests again."

BACKGROUND OF REMOVED PRIESTS
Bentley, 60, was ordained in 1975 and served as an associate pastor at St. Bridget's in Copake Falls and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception; as an instructor at Cardinal McCloskey School, and principal of Vincentian High School; as chaplain at Albany Medical Center and as pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Sidney. Following a period of rehabilitation in the mid-1980s for sexual abuse and evaluation of his fitness by independent psychologists, he was permitted to return to chaplaincy work at St. Peter's Hospital and at Albany Medical Center.
In 1993, Bentley was allowed, under the supervision of the Franciscan Fathers who had been made aware of his background, to do missionary work in Zambia, and later to serve on the staff of a shrine in Ohio and a retreat center in New Mexico, where he also worked as a weekend sacramental minister under supervision.
In April, Bentley was withdrawn from active ministry by Hubbard and recalled to the Albany diocese.
Bertolucci, 64, was ordained in 1965. He served as an assistant pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Castleton, as pastor of St. Joseph's in Little Falls and as administrator at St. Helen's in Schenectady, St. James in Chatham and St. Mary's/Our Lady of Mt. Carmel/ Our Lady of Perpetual Help-Sacred Heart in Hudson. He also served on the faculty of St. John's High School in Rensselaer, Maria College and the University of Steubenville as well as chaplain at the Sisters of Mercy Motherhouse, at LaSalle School in Albany and at Greene County Community College and Greene County Correctional Facility and as a vice-chancellor of the Albany diocese.
Bertolucci served as associate pastor at St. Ambrose parish in Latham until he moved to the St. Anthony of Padua Friary in Catskill in 2001. He retired earlier this year.
Leroux, 72, was ordained in 1956. He served as an associate pastor at Nativity in Edmeston, Our Lady of Victory in Troy, St. Mary's in Gloversville, St. Joseph's in Cohoes and St. Madeleine Sophie in Guilderland; as administrator at Sacred Heart in Stamford, as pastor at Sacred Heart in Cohoes, Sacred Heart in Berlin and St. Joseph's, Fort Edward. Upon his retirement in 1996 he continued to live at St. Joseph's in Fort Edward. Since January of 2001 he has resided at St. Mary's in Glens Falls.
Mancuso, 60, was ordained in 1970. He served as an associate pastor at Holy Spirit in East Greenbush and at St. Patrick's in Ravena. Since 1970, he has been stationed at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Schenectady, as associate pastor from 1970-79 and a pastor since 1979.
Pratt, 58, was ordained in 1972. He served as an associate pastor at St. Mary's in Glens Falls and Immaculate Conception in Glenville and as pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Hudson Falls from 1990-96 and at Corpus Christi in Ushers from 1996 until the present.
Pratt has also served as chaplain at Adirondack Community College, assistant principal of Vincentian High School, principal of St. Mary's of the North Country High School and as a vice-chancellor of the diocese.
Rosch, 55, was ordained in 1972. He served as an associate pastor at St. Joseph's in Scotia, at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Gloversville, at St. Paul the Apostle in Troy, at St. Madeleine Sophie in Guilderland and at Our Lady of the Annunciation in Queensbury. Since 1996, Rosch has been pastor of St Joseph's parish in Fort Edward.

Highlights of the proposed national policy of the Ad Hoc Committee on Sex Abuse on how Roman Catholic bishops in the United States should respond to clerical sex abuse:

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• Report all abuse allegations to civil authorities.
• Remove all priests who abused more than one child in the past and those who abuse any child in the future.
• Set up diocesan review board to determine whether a priest who molested one child in the past can continue to serve under supervision and other conditions, such as continuing counseling.
• Bishops should no longer enter into confidentiality agreements in settlements of civil lawsuits over sex abuse unless the victim insists.
• Require background checks for all diocesan and parish workers who have contact with children.
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• Have bishops provide an "accurate and complete" description of a priest's personnel record if the cleric seeks to transfer to another diocese.
• Have each diocese create a review board, comprised mainly of lay people, to examine abuse claims. Have dioceses establish an outreach program to support victims of priestly sexual abuse.
• Create a commission to research how the U.S. church has responded to sex abuse by priests and join other denominations and organizations in researching child sex abuse in society at large.
• Create a national Office of Child and Youth Protection in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to implement "safe environment" programs to protect children from abuse.
• Create a review board, including parents, to work with the Child Protection Office to annually examine how the bishops are responding to abuse.

Source: Associated Press
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