Pastor restored in Troy

Shortly before the 11 a.m. Mass on March 7 at St. Francis de Sales Church in Troy, Patty Maleski hugged her pastor, Rev. Donald Ophals, and said: "Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration, and our faith is transfigured because we see you here."

Father Ophals returned to his parish for weekend Masses for the first time in nearly a year, finally exonerated of abuse charges made against him.

He told The Evangelist that the support shown to him by parishioners was "wonderful, fabulous, beyond my expectations, overwhelming. It was an outpouring of affection and affirmation after ten months of a nightmare."

He concelebrated the 11 a.m. Mass with Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, who formally introduced the pastor.

Emotional time

Father Ophals was very apprehensive about returning to the parish he has served for 30 years. He wanted the Bishop to preside and others to speak because he knew his emotions would be too overwhelming.

"I empathize with people. I find it difficult to do funerals for close friends, children or parents who are leaving small children behind," he explained. "I have trouble getting through them. It's the way I am; I choke up. I remember a burial service for a baby that I couldn't get through. The father said to me afterward, 'I always thought this was just a job for priests. I'll never think that again.'"

Referring to the parishioners of St. Francis, Father Ophals said: "These people are my life. I love these people. I want to get back to serving them."

Call from Bishop

The moving liturgy ended a ten-month period during which Father Ophals, a priest for nearly 43 years, felt "panicked, devastated, upset, frightened."

On May 7, 2003, at about 11 a.m., he received a phone call from Bishop Hubbard, telling him that a lawsuit had been filed accusing him of sexual abuse. Father Ophals did not recognize the name of his accuser; regardless, he told The Evangelist, "I was totally innocent."

Within minutes of the Bishop's call and after telling his parish staff of the accusation, Father Ophals was "out of the house with just the clothes on my back," worried that TV cameras were on their way.

In the pews

Voluntarily agreeing to a leave of absence as two court cases against him -- one criminal and one civil -- proceeded, Father Ophals stayed with friends and celebrated Mass privately.

But he also attended liturgies at various churches in the Albany Diocese, "sitting in the congregation with nobody knowing I was a priest and getting a good view of" how his peers presided and preached, and how Catholics participated.

"It was so inspiring, so wonderful," he said of the experience.

Supporters

Although he was away from his parish, the priest still found himself surrounded by supporters.

"The parishioners were totally supportive," he said. "One woman sent me a card every week; I now have almost 40 of them. The parish staff was wonderful. No one at all in any way thought the charge was true."

When he began to tick off the names of fellow clergy who stood by him, Father Ophals broke into sobs and said, "They have been great."

Vindication

Although old enough to have retired, Father Ophals never seriously considered that option because "I always thought I would be vindicated."

He finally was. In January, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney determined, after an investigation, that there was no basis for a criminal charge against him. Shortly after, acting Supreme Court Judge Barry Kramer dismissed the civil suit.

Finally, just last week, the Diocesan Review Board completed its own investigation into the underlying charge of sexual abuse and found no evidence to support the allegation against him.

Changes

After surviving ten months of what he terms "great trauma and torture," Father Ophals believes he is now a better person and priest.

"I would never wish this on anyone," he began, "but it will strengthen me in the time I have left in my life. Suffering is part of life. I believe that God brings good out of evil. I have a lot of anger, but I am trying to deal with it. I also want to forgive the people who did this to me. I am working very hard on that. They turned my life upside down.

"I hope I can be a more effective minister because of what I've gone through. I will hear confessions differently. People might see me as someone to talk to because of this terrible experience."

Empathy

Father Ophals expects to retain his good name "with most people," although he adds that "with the massive publicity" that followed the accusation, "there will be some who believe the terrible things" said about him.

As a result of his experience, he said, he has become "much more sensitive to someone who is accused."

In that light, he wrote a note to Bishop Hubbard when the Bishop was accused of sexual misconduct and said, "I am part of a small group of people who can honestly say, 'I know what you're going through.' I totally, absolutely, 100-percent believe in his innocence."

(In some news reports about Father Ophals' return to his parish, attorney John Aretakis claimed that his client, who made the allegations against the priest, was not interviewed by the Diocese. The Diocese said this week that "Mr. Aretakis' claim is false. The Diocesan Review Board's investigator, Thomas Martin, interviewed Mr. Aretakis's client on March 5, 2003, in a conference room in the Albany County Court House. Mr. Aretakis was present. His client was given a full opportunity to provide any and all information to support his allegation.")

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