Bishop speaks on TV about resolving abuse crisis

The following are portions of a recent half-hour TV interview with Bishop Howard J. Hubbard on the issue of clergy sexual abuse and the Albany Diocese's response to it. The interview was broadcast on "Sunday Morning With Liz Bishop," which is seen at 8:30 a.m. on WRGB, channel 6:

Liz Bishop: I know this has certainly been a troubled time for the Diocese and for the Church in general. Do you feel...that you are starting to see some progress, some moving in the right direction?

Bishop Hubbard: I think we have taken a step toward restoration of public confidence. We bishops have been trying to address this problem constructively over the past 15 years. But over the past several years -- because of the revelations in the Archdiocese of Boston and what that has precipitated throughout the country -- there has been a great crisis in confidence created by the fact that abuse had occurred and, secondly, about the way bishops like myself handled the abuse. I hope that this independent audit [released in January] will be a step that would assure the public that we bishops are very serious about addressing this issue constructively and aggressively....

I know there has been some criticism by people that this was not an independent audit. But it really was. There is a group of national board members -- consisting of people like Justice Burke from the Supreme Court of the Illinois Court; Leon Panetta, [former] chief staff person to President Clinton; [Robert] Bennett, the renowned attorney; and 15 or 16 other people -- who commissioned an independent group, the Gavin association, comprised primarily of former FBI agents to come into each diocese in the country.

We opened our books; we made available to them any information they wanted. They interviewed victims; they interviewed our Victims' Assistance Coordinator; they talked with district attorneys; they talked with priests who have been accused. And they stated that the Diocese of Albany is fully in compliance with the Charter [for the Protection of Children and Young People] that the bishops adopted in June of 2002.

Liz Bishop: One of the attorneys of a number of alleged victims in this area says none of them was interviewed in the course of that [audit]. Were there people in this area interviewed?

Bishop Hubbard: Yes, there were. Part of the problem is that sometimes when victims are being represented by an attorney, [the attorneys] give us a warning in writing that we cannot have any discussion with the clients they are representing. So that's a problem that we have in reaching out to clients.

Liz Bishop: Do you think that was the case here, that they just simply were unavailable to you legally?

Bishop Hubbard: I think that's probably the case because we're on notice that we cannot speak with clients that certain attorneys are representing.

Liz Bishop: Another representative of...alleged victims said that his problem with this audit was that the auditors looked at only what they chose to look at and didn't, for instance, look at personnel files.

Bishop Hubbard: They had all the files available to them. They were primarily looking at what has happened in the Diocese since July of 2002 to make sure that every diocese was complying with the commitment that the bishops made at that time to address this problem in a transparent and fully accountable way. But any documents that they wanted or any person they wanted to talk to, they were free to have access. We did not choose who they talked to.

Liz Bishop: Do you really believe that this one single event [the audit] and one document [the Charter]...is the linchpin for restoring public confidence?

Bishop Hubbard: No, I don't think there's any one, single event that's going to bring total and complete healing. I think it's going to be a long process....In our Diocese, for example, we have developed a safe environment program. We've had over 8,000 employees and volunteers who have been trained in understanding the nature of sexual abuse, how to detect it, how to prevent it. We've had 2,000 of our employees and volunteers undergo background checks.... [Editor's note: The number is now 11,000.]

Liz Bishop: With that army in place, really, could a case of abuse happen again?

Bishop Hubbard: Yes, it could happen again....Child sexual abuse...is a major problem within our society. It is estimated that one out of every eight males and one out of every five females have been sexually abused before the age of 18. And so clergy sexual abuse is a small subset of a wider problem within our society.

But once we make people aware of what sexual abuse is all about and how it can happen and what you can do if it does happen, I think we're creating an environment that will limit this from happening.

I would also say that given the programs we've put into place, even prior to 2002, we have only had two allegations of sexual abuse by any priest ordained since 1980....We have been putting programs in place through the years, and I think the more public nature of our efforts to deal with this issue will create the proper environment that this will be a very rare, if ever, occurrence, hopefully.

Liz Bishop: What have you found has been the biggest catalyst for these situations happening? Has it been allowing people with a predisposition access to the Church and therefore to children or potential victims?

Bishop Hubbard: One of the things that we're trying to analyze for ourselves is why did this happen. I can anecdotally tell you why I think it happened, but the bishops have commissioned a study through the John Jay School of Criminal Justice in New York City in which we have given them all the information over the past 50 years about this. We are asking them to take that information, to compile it and then to do an analysis of what were the factors, what were the causes that contributed to this.

I will say, however, that since the late 1970s, everyone who has been admitted into the priesthood has been subject of a rigorous psychological investigation as well as personal interviews by members of our Diocesan Formation Board. As I indicated a few moments ago, the numbers of allegations against priests ordained over the past 20 or 25 years have been very few.

Liz Bishop: You're certainly aware that there have been critics out there who have said that perhaps one way to tackle this problem or to restore public confidence is...[for] you to step down. Have you ever seriously considered that or thought of that as a potential solution?

Bishop Hubbard: I certainly have looked at that; and if I thought that that would contribute to healing on the part of victims and be better for the Diocese, then I would consider stepping down. However, before doing that, I would certainly consult with our Presbyteral [priests'] Council, with our Diocesan Pastoral Council and other bishops in the state to see if they felt that this would be something that would be appropriate and bring healing to our Diocese. To this point, no one has suggested that that would be a good step.

Liz Bishop: Have you gotten support from the Diocese, from the parishioners themselves?

Bishop Hubbard: I've received many letters of support and encouragement from people of the Diocese. Although finances doesn't mean everything, it sometimes can be an indication of whether people are satisfied with your leadership, and we had a very successful Capital Campaign at the beginning of this decade. We raised over $56 million. And our Bishop's Appeal the last two years has been up. So I think that's some indication that while people are disappointed with some of the things that have happened and maybe about the way I've handled it, they still have not walked away; and I think they still look to me for leadership....

Liz Bishop: What do you ultimately see as the cost of this scandal?

Bishop Hubbard: I think the major cost is...loss of trust in the clergy and in the leadership of the bishops in this Diocese and throughout the United States. There also have been financial costs as well. As we indicated in the report we issued in December, we have spent $3.1 million in settlements on behalf of victims [over the course of the past 50-plus years]. We've also spent over $900,000 in treatment and counseling for victims and for priests. So that has been a substantial financial cost, but that pales in comparison to the moral harm that I think the scandal has brought to the Church....

Liz Bishop: Were you surprised [the scandal] hasn't...had a greater impact on [contributions]?

Bishop Hubbard: I've been pleasantly pleased it hasn't. I think the major reason is because the people of our Diocese understand the good work that the Bishop's Fund does. It funds our Catholic schools, our Catholic Charities programs, our programs for family life and religious education, our marriage tribunal, our vocation program, and a number of other programs on behalf of vulnerable people within our society. So people are able to make the distinction between a disappointment about the action of a given priest or my actions, and the mission of the Church; and they are still standing with the mission of the Church....

Liz Bishop: How much has this sex abuse scandal made [religious vocations] less than an appealing option to children or to the parents of young people who might be considering this?...

Bishop Hubbard: We've been experiencing a decline of vocations to the priest[hood] and religious life for some time. Obviously, this environment doesn't make it all that more attractive for somebody to commit themselves to the priesthood or religious life. On the other hand, we have ten men studying for the priesthood at the present time. I'll be ordaining three men to the priesthood in May....

There are a number of men today who are saying, "This is our Church. We want to step up to the plate and help the Church in this time of crisis." So, in a certain sense, for some, it has been an incentive to come forward and help the Church right itself, and to ensure that this terrible tragedy never occurs again within our Church....There are people out there who love the Church and who want to step forth and be a leader in the Church in this time of crisis....

This scandal...is one of the worst crises in the history of the Church. I just want to assure [people] that I and the Diocese of Albany are fully committed to address this problem to bring healing into people's lives and to restore trust.

(1/29/04)