ALBANY (NY)
The Daily Gazette [Schenectady NY]
August 14, 2023
By Andrew Waite
A celebratory profile of Bishop Emeritus Howard Hubbard on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany’s website concludes by noting that Hubbard’s 37 years as bishop made him the longest serving bishop in the history of the diocese.
But now, Hubbard wants to sever formal ties to the Catholic Church.
He’s in love with a “wonderful woman.”
In an Aug. 1 statement, Hubbard declared that in July he was married in a civil ceremony, and now the 84-year-old is really, really hoping the church will come to recognize that marriage and grant his laicization request, which would effectively free him from his priestly obligations.
But in March the Vatican denied that laicization request until seven civil lawsuits against Hubbard alleging sexual misconduct have been resolved, according to Hubbard’s statement. And this month, current Bishop Edward Scharfenberger said Hubbard is still beholden to the rules against marriage, even though the retired bishop cannot represent himself as a priest due to the sexual abuse allegations, which Hubbard denies.
The problem for Hubbard is that after the Albany Diocese’s decision to file bankruptcy in March, the resolution to the abuse cases against him could take years.
Hubbard’s statement said he’s been “encouraged to wait patiently” and pray.
“I could be 91 or 92 before these legal matters are concluded,” Hubbard’s statement reads.
It’s hard to feel bad for the former bishop. And my sympathy for him shriveled even more after talking to Colleen Garbarini late last week. She’s a 52-year-old Schenectady resident who is one of the hundreds of alleged abuse victims with unresolved Child Victims Act claims against the Albany Diocese.
While Hubbard is hoping to move on from his life in the church, Garbarini and many others will never have the luxury of leaving behind the scars the institution helped inflict.
In Garbarini’s April 2020 lawsuit, which now awaits resolution in bankruptcy court, she alleges that the late Brother Clement Murphy, who worked at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons school, repeatedly abused her, beginning the grooming process when Garbarini was in elementary school.
The trauma is impossible to outrun. It’s impacted Garbarini’s relationship with her two children: She’s overprotective and anxious. It’s impacted her relationship with health care workers: She’s afraid of being physically vulnerable. And it’s impacted her career: While she has a satisfying job at Northern Rivers coordinating positive interventions to students at the School at Northeast in Schenectady, she says she’s declined other opportunities because she’s deeply unsettled by change.
Reminders of the abuse surface daily. During the pandemic, masks were triggering. The sight of a crucifix can incite flashbacks. Someone approaching unexpectedly from behind can cause her to jump and tremble.
“I have walked around much of my life being terrified,” Garbarini told Bishop Scharfenberger during a meeting with him in May.
Garbarini can’t escape the impact that clergy abuse has had on her life. And yet Hubbard “seems to think he can in some ways, and it’s just infuriating,” Garbarini told me.
Hubbard should never be granted the right to distance himself from the abuse the Albany Diocese covered up while he was bishop.
Think of all that Garbarini has had to do to cope with the harm she’s endured. Think first that Garbarini’s alleged abuser, Murphy, was first accused of abuse more than a decade before he ever met Garbarini. He could have been stopped. That would have spared Garbarini the pain, the decades of therapy. She still sees her therapist twice a week.
After all this time, Garbarini continues to await accountability from her lawsuit. With the diocese’s March bankruptcy filing, Garbarini and other alleged abuse victims have no idea when — or if — their claims will be resolved.
In the process of bringing about her lawsuit, Garbarini had to relive her abuse, dredging up painful memories to deliver in front of lawyers during her deposition.
She says what angers her most about Hubbard’s recent marriage announcement is the fact that he’s asking for privacy.
Hubbard’s statement reads: “As I enter this new phase of my life as a retired private person, I humbly ask that the news media and others respect our privacy as a couple. My life on the public stage has come to an end.”
And yet there remains that glowing public profile of Hubbard on the Albany Diocese’s website. It glorifies his accomplishments in the church and describes him as a “street priest,” unafraid to take on big issues such as hunger and addiction in Albany’s South End.
The profile makes no mention of the heinous acts of clergy sex abuse that have forced scores to suffer privately for their entire lives.
Still, no matter what happens with Hubbard’s marriage and laicization, Garbarini knows the former bishop will never be able to separate his legacy from the pervasive and long-lasting abuse that the diocese enabled.
Columnist Andrew Waite can be reached at awaite@dailygazette.net and at 518-417-9338.