April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
LAWSUIT

Diocese clarifies Times Union article

An individual who was sexually abused as a minor in Massachusetts by a former pastor of the Albany Diocese has filed a federal lawsuit against both the Diocese and the former priest, Gary Mercure, who was removed from ministry by the Diocese in 2008.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vt., claims that the individual also was abused as a minor when Mercure brought him to Vermont on a personal trip in the late 1980s.

"This lawsuit is at an early stage and motions are pending. The claims against the Albany diocese have no factual or legal basis. We intend to vigorously contest them," Ken Goldfarb, spokesman for the Albany Diocese, said June 8.

Mercure was sentenced to prison in 2011 after a criminal trial in Massachusetts. That was three years after the Diocesan Sexual Misconduct Review Board found reasonable grounds to believe an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Mercure and Bishop Hubbard permanently removed him from ministry and publicly announced the removal.

A story in Sunday's Times Union referenced a civil lawsuit filed in Vermont against the Albany Diocese and Mercure. The Times Union story left out so much relevant information that it is necessary for the Albany Diocese to set the record straight:

1. The Times Union reported that "the Diocese's handling of sexual abuse allegations came under intense scrutiny in 2008 when allegations against [Gary] Mercure were investigated by [the] Warren County District Attorney." The story failed to report that it was the Albany Diocese that contacted the Warren County District Attorney to report the allegations of sexual abuse that resulted in Gary Mercure's conviction.

2. The individual who filed the lawsuit in Vermont has never reported any allegation of abuse to the Albany Diocese.

3. The Diocese took disciplinary action against Mercure in 1994 when he resigned as pastor of St. Mary's Church in Glens Falls after being involved in an inappropriate relationship with a consenting adult. The situation did not involve a minor. Mercure issued his own letter to parishioners, citing health reasons for his resignation.

4. The Times Union implies that the Albany Diocese failed to take appropriate action against Mercure in 2000, when a parent expressed a concern about possible misconduct by Mercure. The Diocese followed up with the parent, but the parent told the Diocese that her then-adult son chose not to file a complaint. The Diocese called in Mercure for extensive questioning. He categorically denied misconduct.

No additional information and no additional complaints came to the Diocese between 2000 and 2008, when, on the basis of a specific allegation, the Albany Diocese removed Mercure from ministry and contacted law enforcement authorities.[[In-content Ad]]

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