BishopAccountability.org
	Protest Vigil Targets Bishop By Michele Morgan Bolton Albany Times Union [Albany NY] November 30, 2005 ALBANY -- Clergy sex abuse victims, family members and friends parked themselves outside Bishop Howard Hubbard's office on Tuesday for a 12-hour vigil. Advertisement "We are here for those who have not received justice, who the diocese, up to this moment, have refused to deal with," said vigil organizer Mark Lyman, of the Albany chapter of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. "Because victims of clergy sexual abuse have been left out in the cold for too long." He pulled a rented Ryder truck up to the 40 N. Lake Ave. Pastoral Center. Inside was a picnic table, chairs and lights. Despite rain, protesters hunkered down for the long haul. They carted blue portable folding chairs, hand-lettered posters and coolers. Pizza arrived later, as did police dogs and two city officers on horseback. Some protesters worked on an improvised word search puzzle that named 25 of Albany's accused priests. Diocesan spokesman Ken Goldfarb said more than 15,000 employees and volunteers in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany have been trained to prevent child sexual abuse through a national program. A session was being conducted Tuesday as the vigil formed. "This diocese has done more than any diocese in the country," Goldfarb said. "We have provided counseling. We have removed priests. ... And we continue to investigate and remove priests." Syracuse SNAP co-director Marianne Barone Trent aimed her sign, "Stop Avoiding the Truth," at cars that either sped by beeping or jeering. One driver yelled: "I'm Catholic and I love Bishop Hubbard."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.