Bishop speaks out on abuse crisis

In a wide-ranging interview with The Evangelist, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard talks in-depth for the first time about the abuse scandal in the Church and Albany Diocese over the past year.

In the interview, which was conducted by editor James Breig, the Bishop speaks about victims of abuse and their healing, the priests he dismissed from ministry, media coverage of the crisis, and his own feelings about the past 12 months. He also discusses issues that have rankled some people, including payments to victims, and delivers a personal message to Catholics throughout the 14 counties of the Diocese.

The crisis started a year ago with revelations in the press about how abusive priests and their victims were dealt with in the Boston Archdiocese. Other dioceses then came under scrutiny for their methods. After reviewing its own policy last spring, the Albany Diocese revised how it handled accusations against priests.

In June, the U.S. bishops passed "The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People." Bishop Hubbard, who voted in favor of the Charter, immediately began to implement it in the Diocese. He removed six priests from ministry for past abuse they admitted to and later suspended two more priests while investigations of allegations against them are conducted; he hired a victims' assistance coordinator to provide help to victims of clergy abuse; he hired a former senior investigator with the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation to investigate allegations; and he instituted the Virtus program to train diocesan personnel to prevent child abuse.

The interview begins with Bishop Hubbard's assessment of the past 12 months.

Q. How would you describe the past 12 months for you?

Bishop Hubbard: It's been a year of horrendous pain. Pain in realizing more fully how deeply victims have been hurt and their families affected. Pain over the anger and embarrassment that's been created for the members of our faith community. Pain for the priests, the vast majority of whom have never offended and yet have been tarnished by this scandal. Pain generated by the loss of credibility and trust in the Church. It seems there is pain all over and very little healing right now. It's a dark night of the soul. It's a period of purgation for the Church that hopefully will lead to reform and renewal.

Q. Are there certain things you would pick out as the worst parts of the past year, or is it the year in toto?

Bishop Hubbard: I would have to say the whole year has been one sadness after another. It seems that as we move forward, when you think you have addressed a problem constructively, it turns out to be inadequate and not responsive to what you were trying to accomplish. It is an unrelenting series of events that are very anguishing and difficult to deal with.

Q. Do you mean that the actions were actually inadequate or that they were perceived as inadequate?

Bishop Hubbard: Take Dallas, for example. We bishops tried to respond in a way that was constructive, but adjustments had to be made after that, and there are still some who feel we did not go far enough or went too far. It's the kind of issue where there's no magic formula. What is accepted by some is judged inadequate by others.

Q. Last June, you removed six priests from ministry. Some were close friends of yours; all were fellow priests. What did that do to you?

Bishop Hubbard: All of them were brother priests; some were good friends, and some were colleagues I worked with on a daily basis. To have to make a decision like that -- removing them permanently from a ministry they had committed their life to -- was heart-rending and gut-wrenching. At the same time, I knew that they had acknowledged their misconduct.

Having talked to victims and their families, I knew the pain they had suffered. The victims of abuse correctly perceived that allowing a priest to remain in ministry meant that the Church did not fully comprehend the harm they had endured. Indeed, there is no room in the ministry for a priest who abuses children. While it was certainly very painful to have to make that decision and to exercise the norms of the Charter, it hopefully is a step toward healing for the victims and the Church in general.

I am still deeply concerned for the ones removed. I hope they will be able to move on with their lives and make constructive contributions, but they won't be able to serve as public ministers in the Church.

Q. Many people have remarked that you look thin, drawn. One actual measurement of that is how much weight you have lost in recent months. How much?

Bishop Hubbard: About 25 pounds. When your desire as a priest is to serve others and bring the Good News of Jesus into their lives, and you realize so many are in pain around you, I take that personally and want to do what I can to alleviate the pain. To have to deal with it day in and day out has taken an internal toll. It's very emotionally draining.

But I realize that the way I and other Church authorities handled this in the past -- even doing the best we could with the lights that were available to us -- was sometimes inadequate. To realize that so much of this hurt can be laid at one's doorstep makes the harm done and pain experienced very personal. I really want to try to make amends for past mistakes and find a constructive path to lead the Church out of this present crisis.

Q. Has there been a spiritual toll as well?

Bishop Hubbard: I mentioned the dark night of the soul. I can really identify with the suffering of Job. On the other hand, I have to acknowledge that part of the crisis was created by actions I took, even though I followed the advice and guidance of experts in the field about how to deal with this. I'm not saying I'm the victim; I contributed to the problem.

I ask God for the strength and enlightenment I need to use the present moment as an opportunity for setting new policies and programs to ensure that the mistakes of the past are never repeated. Hopefully, there is a silver lining in this cloud: not only to set our own house in order but also to put the Church in a position to work on addressing the wider problem of sexual abuse in our society.

Q. Who or what has kept you going over the past year?

Bishop Hubbard: The thing that has kept me going is my faith in Jesus, my love for the Church and priesthood, and -- most especially -- the assurance of prayers I receive from so many people, both members of our Church and those outside our Church. That assurance of prayer amidst this scandal has been the bedrock that has sustained me in ways I can only begin to imagine. I have received many expressions of concern for my own well-being and the well-being of the Church. But most important, I think, is to focus on the well-being of people who have suffered as a result of abuse and as a result of this scandal.

Q. Has anyone abandoned you?

Bishop Hubbard: I don't feel abandoned by anyone. I know people are disappointed in the Church in general and in the fact that, in the past, I restored to ministry, some years ago, several people who had offended, and some would not agree with judgments even in how we've handled the crisis during the last year. I've received letters of criticism about my actions, but I've considered it to be constructive criticism, not abandonment. I understand why people are hurt and disappointed.

I am convinced that through this purgation will come forth new life. That's at the heart of our faith. From defeat and failure come hope and victory; from death comes life. That's the message we must proclaim this Lent. We're living out this mystery of Christ's death-unto-Resurrection in a way that's much more accentuated than it has been in many, many years.

Q. You've apologized many times for the way in which you and the Church in general handled child abuse in the past. Does it seem sometimes that you can't apologize enough?

Bishop Hubbard: I believe that it's important to acknowledge that we failed in many respects in dealing with this. I don't want anyone to think that the apologies are pro forma or that there isn't an inner sense of contrition. I think victims need to know how seriously we take what happened and how sincerely we regret past failures. It's not done superficially or off the top of my head. It comes from the very depth of my being.

Q. Let's move into some specifics. Many Catholics are upset that a check for $150,000 was written from a Catholic Charities account last summer for a victim. Why was that done?

Bishop Hubbard: I cannot speak about the specifics of the case and victim, but I will tell you that we acted out of a desire to respond to what we believed was an immediate need of the victim and to do something that we thought would bring healing.

I made the decision to respond to the immediate need and that the money would come from the diocesan insurance fund. Unfortunately, the people authorized to sign checks from the diocesan insurance account were not available when the money was needed. I made the commitment to Catholic Charities that if they would respond to the immediate need, the funds would be replaced from the insurance account as soon as possible. And that's what happened; the money was replaced within three days. Catholic Charities does provide assistance to people in need, but it does not provide compensation to victims of sexual abuse by clergy.

Q. Would you do it again?

Bishop Hubbard: If a person was in need and I felt that the Church could respond, I would do that. However, in retrospect, I certainly would not make any temporary withdrawal from another fund to do it. I would make it directly from the insurance fund, rather than transfer it later. At the time, I felt it was a legitimate need. My desire to help the victim and bring healing to him and his family was my only motivation.

Q. The check has been described in the media as "untraceable." Was it?

Bishop Hubbard: It was a documented, official bank check, rather than one issued from a particular Church account. By issuing a bank check, the victim was spared any embarrassment resulting from having to present a check from a Church agency.

Q. Other victims have been compensated by the Diocese. One received payments ten years ago or so, and then again last year. Why?

Bishop Hubbard: Because I heard his story and the circumstances of his life. Based on that, there was still a need, and I felt some of the problems he had experienced were related to the abuse he had suffered. I thought it was still appropriate to respond, even though we had done so previously.

Q. The Diocese announced last spring that payments to victims would be announced. Some people understood that to mean the payments would be announced as they were made. You have said they will be announced annually as a sum total. What is the policy?

Bishop Hubbard: There is some confusion here. When we permanently remove priests from ministry because there are reasonable grounds to believe that sexual abuse has occurred, we announce those removals promptly. On an annual basis, we will publish the aggregate amount of money in settlements reached with victims. The people of the Diocese deserve that information, and I am committed to providing it. To announce each individual settlement would call attention to the victim receiving it.

Q. The Diocese pledged to be open about abuse cases. Have you been?

Bishop Hubbard: I've tried to act with transparency, taking into account both the victims' need for confidentiality and the rights of the accused. It's always a balance between those two. We've tried to maintain that balance, and we've announced publicly the names of priests removed from ministry and why.

Q. From media coverage, you seem to have given personal attention to one victim in particular. Is that so, or do you give such attention to all victims, but they don't talk to the media about it?

Bishop Hubbard: It's been my policy to meet with any victim who wants to see me. I have met with numerous victims over the course of 26 years as bishop.

I am still willing to meet with victims, but we now have a victims' assistance coordinator who is the first one to receive complaints and who responds to the immediate pastoral and spiritual needs of the person. That doesn't mean I'm not willing to meet with victims if it will contribute to healing. This follows the Charter, which says that bishops should do what they can personally to bring healing and reconciliation. Depending on the circumstances, it might be a personal visit; it might be a communal healing service.

Q. One victim tape-recorded confidential meetings and has gone public with those tapes. How do you feel about your tape-recorded words being shared through the media?

Bishop Hubbard: In my various meetings with the victim, I was responding to specific issues he was bringing to my attention, and trying to answer his questions or respond to his requests. I hope that came across. I was trying to bring healing to him.

Q. Do you feel betrayed when you open a newspaper and see the tapes being transcribed?

Bishop Hubbard: I have no regrets about trying to respond to the victim. I cannot judge why he has determined this is appropriate. I certainly hope that if he thinks it will bring healing to his life, such occurs.

Q. What has been your experience with other victims?

Bishop Hubbard: I've always tried to hear what victims have to say; to apologize for the harm that was done; and to let them know that we regret the terrible trauma they suffered, and want to provide counseling and support to them so they can find healing.

I hope those meetings are productive. Yet, I also realize that sexual abuse by a priest is a very serious betrayal of trust, and it can engender within the victim a mistrust of clergy and authority figures in general. So even when there's an openness on my part to reach out and extend healing, I can appreciate that, at times -- because of their experience of betrayal -- there is a guardedness or reservation about whether the response is genuinely sincere or a further manipulation. That's something I have to be aware of: Past betrayal can be a filter through which any interaction of victims with Church authorities is perceived.

Q. Did you ever tell a counselor to tell a victim, "What you say to me will be told to the Bishop?"

Bishop Hubbard: I never had such a conversation.

Q. Did you ever sit in on a counseling session?

Bishop Hubbard: I've never sat in on a counseling session. I've participated in interventions wherein a victim has requested to meet with a perpetrator. Those are not counseling sessions. I've never sat in on anyone's individual therapy.

Q. What's your opinion of the media's coverage of the scandal?

Bishop Hubbard: First of all, it has to be underscored, as I've said on numerous occasions, that the press did not create the problem. It was the violation of sacred trust on the part of some priests and the way in which that misconduct was handled by some bishops that created the crisis. The press has to be given credit for bringing the crisis to light. If it wasn't for the vigilance and persistence of the press and some victims, individually and as groups, the problem probably would not have come to public scrutiny. To the extent that the scrutiny has been helpful to victims and to the extent it has encouraged other victims to come forward, then the press did a great service.

That having been said, however, at times the press has covered what is a very complex issue in a simplistic way. Reading some accounts, you could get the impression that homosexuality, pedophilia, ephebophilia and celibacy are all one thing. At times, assertions are made or assumptions presented which are not grounded in fact, or only one perspective is presented.

While the press has uncovered the problem, their analysis of the complexity of the issues and the way in which they put things into a time sequence have not always been nuanced or balanced.

Q. Abuse occurs in other religious groups, on college campuses, in homes and elsewhere, but that does not get the same coverage. Is there a double standard?

Bishop Hubbard: A revelation of misconduct on the part of a priest receives more attention than misconduct on the part of someone else in another profession because we should be held to a higher standard. People have invested us with their trust, and we profess a doctrine and morality wherein this type of behavior is seriously sinful. When we fail in this regard, we are held to a higher standard.

Q. After a year of being portrayed in a negative light in some media, have you ever considered resigning?

Bishop Hubbard: That's not my decision to make. It would have to be done in consultation with the Holy See. If I felt that the mission of the Church could not be accomplished in the Diocese of Albany with my leadership, then the mission is much more important than my retaining the office of diocesan bishop. If I was convinced personally or because of the advice of people who have oversight responsibility in the Diocese -- various collegial bodies and so forth -- that it was appropriate to step out of leadership, I would look at that.

Q. But you haven't?

Bishop Hubbard: I believe I have made mistakes in the way I addressed some of these issues in the past, but I also believe I have tried to act in the best interests of all involved. I hope, as we move forward, that I am able to communicate that to people so I can regain whatever trust in my leadership that has been lost.

Q. In the face of heavy criticism, amid accusations in the media of duplicity or deviousness, and even when a victim has made allegations about you, you've been silent. Has that been a mistake? Can people interpret silence as an admission of guilt?

Bishop Hubbard: No one should mistake the Diocese's silence for anything other than a deep reluctance to turn the pain of victims into a story for the nightly news.

This is a very complex issue. There are issues of professional confidentiality, for example. In terms of my interactions with a victim, I would not feel comfortable speaking publicly if there was a chance I might violate an individual's confidence. For me to talk about those meetings would be unethical and unprofessional.

Other matters involve lawsuits. I believe lawsuits should be tried in a fair and impartial court, not in the news media, and I don't believe there is value in exchanging charges and counter-charges with plaintiffs' lawyers through the media.

Q. Are we nearing the end of this scandal, or are there more things to be revealed?

Bishop Hubbard: I don't think we're near the end in the sense that the fallout will continue to occur over a long period of time. We have pierced the boil and begun to take steps toward healing. But I don't think there's any magic-wand solution. Also, there's always the potential that other victims we don't know about will come forward and other perpetrators will be named.

The hurt that has been experienced has been very great. That type of hurt cannot be resolved overnight. It's going to take a period of time for healing to happen. I do believe that the bishops in general and myself in this Diocese are trying to accomplish things through our policies that are designed to restore trust, to protect children and to create codes of behavior for all in the Church -- ordained and non-ordained, salaried and volunteer -- that will ensure the Church will be the safest environment possible in this community and in this society, so the problems of the past will never recur.

Q. By means of this interview, you have a chance to talk to tens of thousands of Catholics as if you were sitting across a kitchen table from each of them. What do you want to say to them?

Bishop Hubbard: First of all, I want to remind them that the Church proclaims the mission of Jesus; and that through all of the hurt, pain and embarrassment of the past year, I hope our people never lose sight of who Jesus is and how He loves them. I also hope they do not allow this scandal to deflect them from their relationship with God. It would be the greatest tragedy of all if people were to lose faith in God because of the misconduct of priests or inappropriate response of bishops.

I would hope that while people appropriately express how they feel about the behavior of individuals who represent the Church, their faith in God and understanding of His all-embracing love for all individuals will in no way be shattered.

I want to assure everyone that we as a Diocese will continue to advance the mission of Jesus, and to call every member of the Church to holiness and ministry. To the extent that people walk with us through the shadow of death we are experiencing and help us rectify the problems that have arisen, to that extent can they make their contribution to building up the reign of God in our day.

I also hope that, as a community, we can find ways to bring healing to the lives of all who have been affected by this scandal: the victims and their families, the priests who have not offended but whose image has been tarnished, the priests who have been removed from ministry or been accused, and the wider Church community. It may be a slow process, but I hope we never give up on trying to bring about healing and reconciliation.

(03/13/03) [[In-content Ad]]