Agony in Albany - The Roman Catholic Faithful

Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc. / AMDG May 2004 Albany newsletterare not a judge, then you will or may be makingyourself a witness in making determinations how andwhy one person may be more credible than another.“Are you aware that the Albany Diocese neglectedto note in their February 16, 2004 press releaseconcerning the death of Fr. Minkler that Fr.Minkler worked very closely with Cardinal O’Connorin the 1970’s until 1984? Fr. Minkler worked directlyfor Archbishop Joseph Ryan of the military ordinariateback when the ordinariate came directly under theauspices of the New York Archdiocese, and thereforeCardinal O’Connor. Was the Albany Diocese attemptingto make sure that the public would not becomeaware of the close connection and close relationshipthat Fr. Minkler had with Cardinal O’Connor?“Once you become aware that Fr. Minklerauthored the two letters, one can easily understandwhy Fr. Doyle and/or Bishop Hubbard tried to bully,intimidate and coerce Fr. Minkler into a false repudiation,much the same as Mr. Citera and Fr. SanFratellotried to bully my client on March 2, 2004.“Once you become aware of what I alreadyhave found out about Bishop Hubbard’s credibility,you may come to the only logical conclusion that heis not telling the truth and that he and you are costinghis parishioners excessive amounts of money to concealhis false and disingenuous actions.“I take note that when I requested of youroffice a complete copy of your engagement letter withyour principal, you or your partner advised me thatthe consent and approval of your principal wasneeded. That you needed to get this approval, andthat the approval was partially denied, and youwanted to summarize same, belies the fact that youare independent and autonomous and speaks volumesabout your duty to your fiduciary (the Panel andBishop Hubbard) and your ability to be independent.You are acting as an attorney and as an attorney, youhave not waived, may not be able to waive or cannotwaive your fiduciary responsibilities and contractualobligations to your principals and that you have ormay have non-waivable, non-dischargeable duties andobligations as an attorney to your client. You nowexpect me to share and open up my files and informationto you, but you are constrained to provide mewith your engagement letter and other materials thatwill show me the scope of your representation, dutiesand relationships. If you were hired and retained as amediator, you would have had to be approved by me.The fact that you were hired by entities that are generallydefendants that I have sued, and that I am generallya lawyer for victims of clergy sexual abuse,indicates to my clients that you are not and maynever be able to be independent and autonomous.“As an attorney and fiduciary for BishopHubbard and the Albany Diocese Sexual MisconductPanel, a panel that has publicly indicated that‘cannot investigate itself’ and therefore, stands inthe shoes of Bishop Hubbard, you have or mayhave a legal, contractual, fiduciary and/or ethicalduty to your client and principal. If the MisconductPanel was independent of Bishop Hubbard, it wouldhave been able to investigate the bishop. As I advisedyou and I believe you were made aware, Ihave sued your principals, both the MisconductPanel and Bishop Hubbard.“It appears to me, that you and your officehave or may have a conflict of interest. The conflictexists on a number of levels, and would renderyour work and work product useless. It appears tome Ms. White, that your inflated work, inflatedhourly wage and ultimate bill is a rip-off to RomanCatholic Parishioners in the Albany Diocese formany reasons, some of which are outlined in thisletter.“It is unfortunate that because of you oryour agents’ actions on March 2, 2004, which I amcompelled to believe were orchestrated and approvedby you, adversarial relationships and lack oftrust has developed. Your role in these matters hasalso not been explained, developed or thoroughlyaddressed from the standpoint of the Canons of Ethicsand Disciplinary Rules that we attorneys in theState of New York must abide by.“You also appear not to be cognizant ofmy ethical obligations to my clients. My obligationsdo not run to you, the diocese, Bishop Hubbardor the Misconduct Panel. As stated, I am alawyer for victims of clergy sexual abuse. Youwere retained by present and possible future defendants.In essence, you have requested that I compromisemy representation of my clients to serveBishop Hubbard’s false claims and disingenuousdesire to clear his name. Since I am ethically boundonly to my clients and exclusively to my clients,and you and your agents have acted adversarial,confrontational, unprofessional, and not independent,you have made any cooperation difficult on anumber of levels.“In an attempt to further the public’s interestsand save Albany Diocese Parishioner’s money,16