Mass for Archbishop Flynn

The Diocese of Albany will hold a memorial Mass for Archbishop Harry J. Flynn at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany. Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger will preside over the Mass and be the homilist.

Archbishop Flynn, a Schenectady native, died Sept. 22 in St. Paul, Minn., at age 86. Archbishop Flynn was a graduate of Siena College and was ordained for the Diocese of Albany in 1960. He was a former pastor of St. Ambrose in Latham. In addition to serving in the Diocese of Albany, he was rector of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., was bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana, and archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

In 2002, he served as chair of what was then the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, which developed the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis that rocked the Catholic Church across the country.

Archbishop Flynn received wide praise for his work as head of the ad hoc committee. He took a particularly strong stand in favor of the bishops’ “zero tolerance” policy under which any priest who admitted or was proven to have committed at least one act of child sex abuse would be removed from all ministry.

He retired May 2, 2008, after serving as archbishop in the Twin Cities and surrounding counties for 13 years. Until his ministry was curtailed by failing eyesight and his battle in recent years with cancer, he continued to assist in the archdiocese with confirmations and liturgies. He also led retreats across the country. — With CNS