Former Catholic bishop admits covering up sexual abuse allegations
The former bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Albany, New York, has acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse against children by priests in part to avoid scandal and protect the reputation of the diocese.
Howard Hubbard made the admission during a deposition taken last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed under New York state’s Child Victims Act. A judge ordered the deposition released on Friday.
Hundreds of people have sued the Albany diocese over sexual abuse they say they endured as children, sometimes decades ago.
The transcript “will be read with horror by the public”, Cynthia LaFave, an attorney representing some of the plaintiffs, said in an emailed statement. “The public will see the culpability of the Diocese in perpetuating a culture of sex abuse by priests that was allowed to continue for decades.”
Hubbard ran the diocese in New York’s state capital district from 1977 to 2014 and has himself been accused of sexual abuse, which he has denied.
He also testified that the diocese kept records documenting sexual abuse allegations in secret files in a locked room that only he and other top church officials could access.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022...s-cover-up
The former bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Albany, New York, has acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse against children by priests in part to avoid scandal and protect the reputation of the diocese.
Howard Hubbard made the admission during a deposition taken last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed under New York state’s Child Victims Act. A judge ordered the deposition released on Friday.
Hundreds of people have sued the Albany diocese over sexual abuse they say they endured as children, sometimes decades ago.
The transcript “will be read with horror by the public”, Cynthia LaFave, an attorney representing some of the plaintiffs, said in an emailed statement. “The public will see the culpability of the Diocese in perpetuating a culture of sex abuse by priests that was allowed to continue for decades.”
Hubbard ran the diocese in New York’s state capital district from 1977 to 2014 and has himself been accused of sexual abuse, which he has denied.
He also testified that the diocese kept records documenting sexual abuse allegations in secret files in a locked room that only he and other top church officials could access.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022...s-cover-up
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
