ALBANY (NY)
New York Post
September 3, 2022
By Isabel Vincent
The Archdiocese of New York has gone to court to keep under wraps hundreds of pages of records involving an Albany bishop accused of sexually abusing children.
The records pertaining to Howard Hubbard, who served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany between 1977 and 2014, are being sought in connection with a lawsuit brought against him and another former priest. Both have been accused of numerous child sex abuse claims, according to an Albany Times Union report
Hubbard has vigorously denied the allegations, and the former priest — Francis Melfe — is now dead.
The records were created under disciplinary procedures known as “Vos Estis” that were mandated by Pope Francis in 2019 to govern the investigations of child sexual abuse allegations against bishops or other church superiors, the newspaper reported Saturday.
The Archdiocese is seeking to block their release in New York State Supreme Court, arguing they are protected under the First Amendment.