In April 2021, Howard Hubbard, former bishop of the city of Albany, testified under oath for four days before the Supreme Court of the State of New York. The 680-page deposition was made public on Friday by order of a judge.
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The overwhelming revelations for the American Catholic Church are piling up. The latest is that of Howard Hubbard, the former bishop of the state of New York. He had filed, in April 2021, for four days before the Supreme Court of the State of New York. He had recognized that for 25 years, from 1977 to 2002, he was informed of the sexual abuse of minors by 11 priests, without ever reporting them to the police or dismissing them. His 680-page deposition was made public Friday, March 25 by order of a judge.
In response, the victims’ defense association “Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests” (Snap), based in Chicago, welcomed the fact that “from now on, parishioners and public opinion will know concretely that their former bishop was actively involved in covering up abuses”. Snap said “hope this information encourages law enforcement to look into the case and prosecute all crimes committed”.
He left his post in 2014
Questioned by the justice on the reasons for which he had remained silent, Howard Hubbard replied that he was not “not required to report” facts of child sexual abuse, according to his remarks quoted by the local NBC channel, WNYT Channel 13 (in English). According to her, the former bishop of Albany, who left his post in 2014, did not want a new “scandal” of pedophilia that splatters American Catholic priests. In a letter last August, he acknowledged that the Church had not taken the measure of the impact of these alleged crimes on the victims.
In response, the Diocese of Albany assured in a statement “to be able to say with absolute conviction” that he considered “seriously all allegations of abuse and remained committed to unbiased truth-telling”.