Former bishop says New York Archdiocese has covered up sexual abuse of minors for decades

The Diocese of the Catholic Church in Albany (Capital of New York) has been covered up for decades Sexual abuse of minors by their priests His former bishop Howard J. Hubbard said sending them to special treatment rather than calling the police.

Hubbard, from He led the diocese from 1977 until 2014, he was also accused of sexual assault, He made this statement through his lawyer in response to a series of questions from the newspaper Times UnionWhich published the information on Saturday.

When a complaint of sexual misconduct was received against a priest in the 1970s and 1980s, The common practice in the Diocese of Albany, and elsewhere, was to temporarily remove the priest from service and send him for counseling and treatment.Hubbard noted.

According to your statement, “Only when a licensed psychiatrist or psychiatrist determines that a priest is able to return to service without recidivism, is reinstatement considered for the priest.”

“The professional advice we received was well-intentioned but flawed And I admit that I am deeply sorry that we followed him.”

the Times Union notes that Hubbard’s response, 82, comes as he faces multiple allegations of sexual abuse of a minor, as has been cited in dozens of other court cases. in which he is accused of covering up the mistreatment of other priests.

Hubbard denied allegations that he sexually abused minors and in a statement issued in August 2019 He asserted, “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my life. I have confidence in the ecclesiastical and civil legal procedures and I believe it will be clarified in due course.”

So far More than 300 lawsuits have been filed against the Diocese of Albany Under a law that took effect in 2019 in New York, alleged victims will be allowed until August 14 to file claims for sexual assault they say they suffered as children, sometimes decades ago.

As the newspaper indicates, Thousands of pages of court records he reviewed describe a decade in the Diocese of Albany during which several priests or officials were accused of abuse. And that the diocese or Hubbard was alerted to these allegations.

The newspaper added that many of those who applied say they are often ignored.

The first accused

Hubbard’s statement came only days later Former US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Expelled from the priesthood in 2019Accused of sexually assaulting a minor under the age of 16 During a wedding in Massachusetts in 1974This Thursday, the newspaper reported Boston Globe

transfer claim McCarrick is the first person serving as a cardinal in the United States to face criminal charges The alleged victim’s lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, told the newspaper about a sexual offense against a minor.

McCarrick, 91, confronts the former Archbishop of Washington Three counts of indecent assault and battery of a person over the age of 14 in a courthouse in Dedham (Massachusetts), according to the documents he reviewed Globe.

this is the first time McCarrick is formally charged in a US criminal court, After several men filed lawsuits against him in New York and New Jersey claiming that The former Cardinal abused them in those states when they were children.

The crimes reported in those cases were determined by the laws of those states.Which prevented the authorities from bringing charges against McCarrick.

In case Massachusetts, on the other hand, the police were able to file charges because when the events occurred he was not a resident of that stateThe newspaper pointed out that the statute of limitations for crimes was no longer in effect when he returned to his home at the time in New York.

(With information from EFE)

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