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"...be patient while an investigation of sexual misconduct claims against [Hubbard] proceeds. That investigation could take a while because there is so little, if any, evidence of the alleged events..."

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Please pray for the repose of the soul of Father Minkler. To me, he was a Saint! I have not heard of one church here in the Albany Diocese where prayer was offered for Father Minkler at its Masses on Sunday. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone was given the word NOT TO! There is a scheduled Mass for the repose of the soul of Father Minkler this Friday, February 27th, at 6:30 a.m. at St. Brigid's Church in Watervliet. It will be interesting to see if this still takes place now that I have posted it. If anyone has...

Woman claims clergy abuse Albany-- Alleged victim says diocese paid her to keep silent By ANDREW TILGHMAN, Staff writer First published: Friday, March 28, 2003 RELATED STORIES •  Lawyer seeks venue change for priest abuse trials •  Former chaplain at Albany Med is defrocked •  3rd judge appointed to hear Albany diocese cases •  Paper trail connects judge, church lawyer A woman from Schaghticoke said the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese paid her $100,000 in 1999 as part of an agreement that prohibited her from speaking publicly about her alleged sexual abuse by a priest when she was a young...

BOSTON -- Bishop Howard Hubbard assigned a priest to churches in the Albany Diocese throughout the 1980s after the priest was forced to leave a Boston parish under a cloud of concerns about his relationships with young boys, newly released internal documents of the Boston Archdiocese revealed Thursday. Hubbard was in regular contact with Auxiliary Bishop Thomas of Boston in 1978 and 1979 as church officials wrestled with how to handle the concern about the Rev. Dozia Wilson's alleged sexual abuse of children. Hubbard and Daily exchanged letters, spoke by phone and met in person about Wilson, according to his...

Bishop Howard Hubbard in a meeting last spring told a man molested by priests in the 1970s that church officials could provide more support and investigate his allegations more thoroughly if he did not have an attorney.Hubbard met often in 2002 with the victim -- now a 40-year-old married father -- who had hired an attorney and complained to the Albany Catholic diocese a decade ago about being abused by priests whose names he never knew. The man contacted the church again last year -- this time without a lawyer -- seeking more information about the Rev. David Bentley and...

The Rev. David Bentley was a young priest who appeared to love children. Back in the 1970s, the quiet and lanky man sometimes brought carloads of foster kids over to his mother's house on South Allen Street for a home-cooked meal.He often took one troubled boy on overnight stays at rectories, where the two would lounge around and watch television with other clerics, then say good night and head off to bed -- together."How could they not have known? What did they think was going on?" said the victim, now a 40-year-old married father in the Capital Region, who said...

Albany -- The Albany Catholic Charities' payment of $150,000 last year to a victim of sexual abuse by a priest was unusual and has raised questions about the agency's involvement in the sexual-abuse scandal of the past year.Officials at the Albany Diocese and at its charitable arm have refused to discuss what role the tax-exempt organization and its $35 million annual budget have played in providing assistance to victims of sexual abuse referred from the diocese. But last week, the charity's CEO, Sister Maureen Joyce, acknowledged that she gave one victim an untraceable bank check for $150,000 in August --...

Four people who say they were victims of sexual abuse by priests lodged a lawsuit against the Albany Diocese on Tuesday, accusing the church of setting up an intimidating process for reporting abuse.The lawsuit, filed by three women and one man who did not disclose their names, does not seek money and names no priests. Instead, it asks a state judge to force the church to overhaul the way it asks victims to come forward and report sexual abuse by clergy. Specifically, the victims said meeting with church leaders at the diocesan pastoral center on North Main Street -- with...

Youth in Oneonta express themselves through movement BY KAREN DIETLEIN STAFF WRITER Youth at St. Mary's Church in Oneonta are bringing prayer to the parish in a new way: through the lyrical movement of liturgical dance. Interest in dance began with a 1995 production of the Marty Haugen musical, "Tales of Wonder." Previously, said youth minister Michelle Gardner, the young people "didn't think that [liturgical dance] was something that the community wanted." But when parishioners reacted favorably to the musical, dance was integrated into the youth ministry program. Ms. Gardner stressed that the troupe's liturgical dance is not a performance,...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ A retired priest accused of sexually abusing a boy faces a $450,000 lawsuit on behalf of the boy's parents who said the priest harassed them so they would retract complaints against him. ``I'm filing this lawsuit immediately to say to the diocese, 'You will not be allowed to intimidate victims,''' attorney John Aretakis said. According to the suit filed in state Supreme Court Tuesday, the Rev. John Bertolucci, who was removed from public ministry in June, telephoned the victim's parents in September and spoke about how he had abused their son. The suit also alleged the...

Catholic parishioners in Fort Edward are rallying behind their former priest, helping him move into a new apartment and even hoping he may someday return to the pulpit less than a month after he was removed for child sexual abuse.Members of St. Joseph's Church in this small Washington County town are planning a "kitchen shower" Aug. 2 to help the Rev. James Rosch furnish the four-room apartment he rented after he had leave the rectory. Rosch has been sitting in the pews during Sunday services since his removal as head priest last month. "I was just in tears because he...

Despite a faltering economy and widespread scandal, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany said this year's fund-raising drive was better than last year, gathering pledges and contributions for more than $6.4 million dollars in the annual Bishop's Appeal that ended this week.This year's appeal, the largest annual source money for the 14-county diocese's operating budget, was up $511,148 -- or 8.6 percent -- compared to the same campaign last year, according to a statement church officials issued Thursday. Jack Manning, the director of the Bishop's Appeal, said the sexual abuse crisis was on the minds of many this year."We...

ALBANY -- Six priests from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany were permanently removed from the ministry on Thursday because they each had at least one confirmed incident of sexually abusing a child, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard announced today. BENTLEY BERTOLUCCI MANCUSO PRATT ROSCH NOTE: All file photos; none available for Edward Leroux. Hubbard said in each case the abuse occurred more than 15 years ago. The move brings the Albany diocese into compliance with the nationwide policy adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on June 16, calling for the removal of any priest who had ever sexually...