Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany praised his late predecessor, Bishop Howard Hubbard, in a funeral homily Friday. 

Scharfenberger focused his homily on Christian hope and the blessing of priests, though he also  acknowledged that controversy surrounded the retired bishop, who announced a few weeks ago that he had civilly married a woman, prompting a correction from Scharfenberger.

“God wants all of us to be saved, without exception,” he said.

Scharfenberger delivered the homily Friday at a funeral Mass for Albany’s retired Bishop Hubbard, who died Aug. 19, a few days after suffering a stroke. 

“The theme of our reflection today is not so much the past but the present and the future,” Scharfenberger said in his homily for Hubbard, whose tenure was marred by numerous allegations of sexual abuse and an acknowledgement that he knowingly reassigned abusive priests.

Hubbard’s life “is much to be celebrated,” Scharfenberger said, while acknowledging that…