Bishop seeks advice from Diocesan Review Board on three retired clergy named in CVA cases

Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger has asked the independent Diocesan Review Board to offer advisement on the following clergy, each of whom has an allegation of child sexual abuse filed against him through the Child Victims Act. None of the clergy serve in public ministry due to illness or age, and all of them maintain their innocence.

Father James Daley was ordained in 1954. He has served at St. Patrick in Troy; Catholic Central High School in Troy; Mater Christi Seminary in Albany; and St. Thomas the Apostle in Delmar, where was pastor from 1970-2002, when he retired.

Father Dennis Murphy was ordained in 1975. He has served at St. John in Greenville; Vincentian Institute in Albany, with residence at Sacred Heart in Albany; St. Ambrose in Latham; St. Cecilia in Warrensburg; St. Peter in Saratoga Springs; St. Margaret of Cortona in Rotterdam Junction; St. John the Baptist in Walton; St. Peter in Delhi; and Our Lady of Hope, in Fort Plain. He retired in 2016.

Father Nellis Tremblay was ordained in 1954. He has served at St. John the Baptist in Schenectady; St. Patrick in Albany; Our Lady of Mercy in Colonie; Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany; Vincentian Institute in Albany; Sacred Heart in Cohoes; Notre Dame in Whitehall; St. Joseph in Albany; and St. Cecilia in Warrensburg. He retired in 1998 and served at local parishes in the Lake George area for some time afterward.

Because these cases are in litigation, the independent Diocesan Review Board’s ability to investigate is currently limited. When the legal proceedings are complete, the Diocese will pursue its own investigation, if warranted.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany takes all allegations of child sexual abuse seriously. The Diocese urges anyone who as a child was sexually abused by a Catholic priest or deacon to report the matter to a law enforcement agency or to the Diocese. To report an incident of abuse or to seek help, contact the Diocese’s assistance coordinator, Frederick Jones, at (518) 453-6646 or by email at [email protected].