December 26, 2023 at 4:40 p.m.
YEAR IN REVIEW
When I started doing research for my year-end column, I gathered all the year’s Evangelists — all 47 of them — spread them out on a big table and tried to find what I was going to include in the 48th and final paper of 2023.
Flipping through the papers is like going back in time. The newsprint gets on your hands and the papers have that distinct “newspaper” smell. Starting in January and rolling through the months, when you are not sure what you are going to include, there are expressions like, “Wow, I forgot we did that story!” or “That was a great photo!”
After looking through the papers, I have to say that this year may have been the most newsworthy since I started as editor in 2019.
We will not forget the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI in January, the Synod of Bishops on Synodality at the Vatican in October, which caused consternation among many American Catholics, or Pope Francis’ constant outreach to the migrant, the refugee, the asylum seeker and the poor, but this column will focus on the top stories in the Diocese of Albany.
There were two seismic developments in the Diocese this year, one in March and one in August. We will recall those as well as my personal favorites throughout the year.
Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger presides over Mass to conclude the Step Up Men’s Conference at The Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville on Aug. 12. (Patrick Dodson photo)
DIOCESE FILES FOR CHAPTER 11
Saying it was the “best way, at this point, to ensure that all Victim/Survivors with pending CVA litigation will receive some compensation,” the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany on March 15 filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. That was the lead to the story — and the quote was from Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger — that we published on that somber day this spring.
Facing the crush of over 400 lawsuits filed under the Child Victims Act (CVA), the Diocese became the fifth in New York State — the Diocese of Ogdensburg later filed for Chapter 11 in July — to file for reorganization.
Since the CVA went into effect in 2019, the Diocese had been settling cases, sometimes blocks of cases with attorneys, but as the years wore on it — and less and less common ground could be found on a global settlement — it became apparent that Chapter 11 was an inevitability.
What will happen in 2024? Expect a diocesan update in January on what has transpired in the 10 months since the announcement and what is going to happen next year. With the reorganization process taking on average three years to complete, this is something that won’t be settled any time soon.
Priests and deacons pay homage to Bishop Emeritus Howard J. Hubbard after the casket is placed in a hearse following his funeral service on Aug. 25 at St. Pius X Church in Loudonville. (Cindy Schultz photo for The Evangelist)
BISHOP HUBBARD DIES
I was walking with my family and friends in Windham, N.Y., when I got a call from Kathy Barrans, diocesan communications director, and she said Bishop Emeritus Howard J. Hubbard had died on Saturday, Aug. 19, at the age of 84. I had finished writing the obituary that Friday knowing that he had been hospitalized at Albany Medical Center and was asking for prayers after what was reported to be a stroke. Staff writer Emily Benson quickly posted the story online and we committed to redoing the paper on Monday for a commemorative section.
It is hard to overstate the impact that Bishop Hubbard, who was the youngest bishop in the United States when he was ordained in 1977 at the age of 38, had on the Diocese during his 37-year tenure.
He was a staunch advocate for the poor, marginalized and those struggling with addiction, as well as a champion of peace and social justice issues and interfaith friendships, but stepped away from his pastoral duties after his legacy was tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse in 2019. In all, Bishop Hubbard was named in seven CVA lawsuits.
After his petition to be returned to the lay state was denied by the Vatican in 2023, he announced in an Aug. 1 statement that he had married in a civil ceremony. Less than three weeks later, Bishop Hubbard was dead.
In his final statement to the Diocese, he said, “I want to express my profound gratitude to my friends and colleagues and the people of our Diocese for the love, care and concern you have shown me in my nearly 60 years of priestly service, 46 as a bishop, and for the wonderful fraternal bond I have enjoyed with my brother bishops and priests, deacons and the religious women and men who have served in our Diocese, the laity and the interfaith and civic leaders with whom I was privileged to serve. … To all of you, I thank you with the words of my episcopal motto, ‘Rejoice, we are God’s people.’ ”
HOPE AND HEALING ISSUE
Barrans, who is also part of the diocesan Hope and Healing Committee, was the catalyst for an important Evangelist edition when she called me one day in April and asked if the paper would be interested in running first-person stories about people who have been victims of abuse. These conversations were first published on the diocesan website (rcda.org) and it made sense to print them as well in the paper during National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.
These survivors want to be heard and it is the duty of every person, every Catholic, to listen. For so many years, victims of abuse, by clergy or others, were not believed, made to feel like outcasts, like they were to blame for their own abuse. I was glad that Kathy came up with the idea and felt the April 27 edition of the paper was one of the most important ones we have ever published.
In the same issue, in a column about pastoring to survivors, Father Matthew Duclos wrote about the group Awake Milwaukee, whose mission “is to awaken our community to the full reality of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and work for transformation and healing in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and beyond.”
Awake Milwaukee was sponsoring a weekend retreat in July in Wisconsin for 22 abuse survivors that would cost roughly $10,000 and was looking for donations. After writing a column about this in the paper, Evangelist readers played a big part in raising over $12,000 for the event. Thank you again to our loyal and generous readers!
Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger relaxes with fellow priests during a gathering to celebrate his 50 years in the priesthood on July 2 at his residence in Albany. (Cindy Schultz photo for The Evangelist)
BISHOP’S 50TH AND 75TH
Bishop Ed celebrated his 75th birthday on May 29 and the 50th anniversary of his Ordination to the Priesthood on July 2 with a Mass at the Cathedral and a low-key celebration at his home in Albany.
As most people know, Bishop Scharfenberger had to submit his resignation to the Vatican when he turned 75, but, in a wide-ranging interview about his life and priesthood in May, he said he had no plans to step down anytime soon, which included one of my favorite quotes of the year.
“What I am going to do is I have to write my letter on May 29, my birthday. So I will write, ‘Dear Pope, it’s been real.’ (Bishop said with a hearty laugh) Something to the effect that I’m at your disposal. I’m not going to tell the pope one way or the other what to do, but I am not going to request to retire. I have to submit my resignation because I have to but I am not going to make a special request that I am ready to retire, because I am not.”
We are lucky to have Bishop Ed lead us to Christ and guide us through life’s troubles and storms.
The Monstrance is carried under a canopy for the Eucharistic Procession during the New York State Eucharistic Congress on Oct. 21 at Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville. (Cindy Schultz photo for The Evangelist)
NEW YORK STATE EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS
With the three-year National Eucharistic Revival in full swing — with the crucial goal of highlighting the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist — the dioceses of New York State decided to hold a Eucharistic Congress on Oct. 20-22 at Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville. The event was a huge success with over 11,000 Catholics attending, all eight state dioceses were represented, and 17 bishops and more than 300 priests, deacons and seminarians were part of the Opening Mass on Oct. 21.
Bishop Scharfenberger celebrated the closing Mass, saying that “Jesus changes lives. Everyone who comes into Jesus’ presence is somehow transformed by that. If we bear the presence of Christ, yes, my brothers and sisters, we will change the world because God wants to save the world through us.”
The week also included a four-day, 57-mile spiritual journey organized by Fathers Daniel Quinn and Stephen Yusko that started in Albany and ended in Auriesville. Two other yearly diocesan events of note put on by Thomas Cronin, director of Evangelization & Strategic Planning, the Step Up Men’s Conference and the Unleashing Love Women’s Conference, have become much beloved and well attended.
THE NEW YEAR
As we look forward to the New Year, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Father David LeFort, who left us much too soon at the age of 55 on Aug. 31. The former rector of the Cathedral, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, was also president of the Evangelist board. Father LeFort was the first priest I talked with when I interviewed for the job as editor and was a tireless supporter of the paper. I offer prayers for him and his family and for all the people who unexpectedly have lost loved ones.
As for my Evangelist family, let me say thank you and God bless to Emily Benson, staff writer, Ann Egan, circulation, Kathy Hughes, administrative assistant, Brenda Powell, composition, John Salvione, advertising rep, and Stephanie Zebrowski, business manager!
You guys make me look good and I can’t wait to see what we do in 2024!
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