ALBANY (NY)
Times Union [Albany NY]
September 10, 2022
Regarding the Times Union’s series of articles on Albany Bishop Emeritus Howard J. Hubbard, I have been quiet too long. I want to speak up for Hubbard the man. I’m not writing about his leadership or the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of sex abuse but of Hubbard, the good and decent man I have known for more than 60 years. The allegation of his deviant behavior is completely out of character for that man. I was Hubbard’s assistant in the chapel of Camp Tekakwitha while we were both in the seminary and then in Rome for two years before he was ordained as a priest and before I returned after my ordination. In the 18 years I served as a priest, before and after I resigned in order to marry Faye Tischler, I worked with Hubbard on issues of social and criminal justice. Throughout, he was a spiritual and dedicated priest and bishop of integrity. I don’t think I ever heard him swear, drink too much or spend time badmouthing others. The idea of him carousing in rectories strikes me as absurd. Whatever his leadership qualities, Hubbard is a straight arrow.
Jim Murphy
Scotia