Agony in Albany - The Roman Catholic Faithful

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc. / AMDG May 2004 Albany newsletterfor at least three years in order to document homosexualmisconduct and abuse among Albany priests, includingBishop Howard Hubbard. "[Fr.] Minkler wasscared to death that the bishop would find out," Bradytold Albany’s Times-Union. Brady said the priest lefthim a voice mail message asking for advice the daybefore his death.Brady confirmed that Fr. Minkler was indeedthe author of the controversial 1995 report. The priestsent Brady a copy of the report in 2001, and althoughthe report itself was signed with the pseudonym"Henry," the fax coversheet accompanying the letterwas signed by Fr. Minkler.According to Paul Likoudis, news editor forThe Wanderer, he received a phone call from Fr.Minkler shortly after the priest returned from signingthe affidavit. In the course of their conversation, saidLikoudis, Fr. Minkler indicated that, contrary toBishop Hubbard’s claim, he was summoned to thechancery by diocesan chancellor Fr. Kenneth Doyle,former spokesman for the U.S. bishops conference inWashington. According to Likoudis, Fr. Minkler explainedthat Fr. Doyle had the affidavit all made outand told the priest to sign it during their brief meeting.Fr. Joseph F. Wilson of the Diocese ofBrooklyn also spoke with Fr. Minkler by telephonethat same evening. Although the Albany priest madeno mention to him of being summoned to the chancery,he did tell Fr. Wilson that "the bishop made melie." Fr. Wilson said he assumed Fr. Minkler was referringto being forced to sign the affidavit disavowingauthorship of the 1995 report to Cardinal O’Connor."I talked to Fr. Minkler for about an hour,"Fr. Wilson explained. "He wanted advice on how tosmooth things over with his bishop. I had no reservationswhatsoever about his state of mind when I finishedtalking to him that night." Fr. Wilson added thatthe Albany priest also mentioned that he had talkedwith at least one other priest and a lay canon lawyerto solicit advice that same evening. "Not exactly theactions of a man who’s planning to commit suicide,"commented Fr. Wilson.Likoudis agreed, but admits that he doesn’tknow the circumstances surrounding the priest’sdeath, other than that they seem suspicious. "It’s allspeculation at this point," he said. What is not speculationis the fact that Fr. Minkler, a former secretaryto Cardinal O’Connor, was asked by the lateArchbishop of New York to prepare a brief detailingclerical corruption in the Albany diocese. That report,said Likoudis, was supposedly delivered directly intothe hands of Pope John Paul II during a private 1995meeting with Cardinal O’Connor, who was allegedlytrying to facilitate the removal of the Albany bishop.Likoudis was a featured speaker, along withStephen Brady, at a public meeting held by RomanCatholic Faithful at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtownAlbany a week after Fr. Minkler’s death. Likoudistold a crowd of 500 that for the past 13 yearsFr. Minkler was a trusted source of inside informationin the Diocese of Albany. In 1991, Likoudis added,Fr. Minkler was a primary source for a series of Wandererarticles ("Agony in Albany") critical of BishopHoward Hubbard.Brady revealed that Fr. Minkler was also aclose collaborator with Roman Catholic Faithful: "Fr.Minkler had been seeking RCF’s assistance to helpbring about reformative changes in the Albany diocese."Fr. Minkler is not the first priest associatedwith Roman Catholic Faithful to die under mysteriouscircumstances. In 1998 Fr. Alfred Kunz was murderedat his rural Wisconsin parish. His throat was slitby a razor blade, and he bled to death before his bodywas discovered the next morning. Although the subjectof one of the most extensive FBI investigations inWisconsin history, the murder of Fr. Kunz remains amystery.Fr. Kunz was an accomplished canon lawyerwho lent his expert assistance to Brady as RomanCatholic Faithful investigated homosexual corruptionin the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois. Less than twoyears after the death of Fr. Kunz, Springfield’sBishop Daniel Ryan resigned after Frank Bergen, aformer male prostitute, identified the bishop as one ofhis regular high-paying clients for 11 years, going sofar as to describe in detail the bishop’s private residence.Bishop Ryan, however, steadfastly denied thatcharge and others for years before he resigned.One of Bishop Hubbard’s accusers is also aformer male prostitute. Anthony Bonneau, now 40,says he was a 16-year-old runaway when the Albanybishop twice paid him for sex in Albany’s WashingtonPark. Bonneau told the Times-Union that he recognizedHubbard as one of his johns about ten yearsago when he saw the bishop on television. At thetime, he said he told only his wife.Bonneau, a self-described born-again Christian,called the bishop "a Washington Park predator."22
Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc. / AMDG May 2004 Albany newsletterHe came forward with his allegations, he said, onlyafter he saw Bishop Howard Hubbard deliver his publicstatement of denial about the first accusation of ahomosexual encounter. He stated he has no intentionof filing a suit against the diocese, and is motivatedonly out of a sense of Christian duty in hopes of protectingother children."I was appalled, I was totally appalled," Bonneausaid of Bishop Hubbard’s assertion that he’s"never had sexual relations with anyone.""There were many times he approached me,"Bonneau announced at an Albany press conference."There were also times when he paid me cash to havesex with him. It hurts me…to think that this person[Bishop Hubbard] could stand there and lie to thepublic."Albany Chancellor Fr. Kenneth Doyle respondedto Bonneau’s allegations. According to theTimes-Union (Feb. 7, 2004), Fr. Doyle "repeatedHubbard’s statement that the bishop has never brokenhis vow of celibacy, which Doyle said includes anyoral contact or fondling."Bishop Hubbard also found an ally in Fr. JosephCebula of Schenectady. Fr. Cebula told theTimes-Union that he’s confident his bishop did nothingwrong: "I think [Hubbard] is a man of integrityand honesty. He’s a man of his word, and I think he’sa moral person too."After two allegations were leveled againstBishop Hubbard, the Albany shepherd was quick totry to clear his name. Once he heard of the first accusation—Albanynative Andrew Zalay came forwardwith a recently-discovered suicide note allegedlytyped out by his brother, who claimed to be having ahomosexual relationship with a bishop named Howardbefore setting himself ablaze in his Albanyhome—the bishop cut short his vacation in Florida toreturn home to the eye of the storm.Determined to restore his reputation, BishopHubbard said that rather than waiting for vindicationin a protracted legal battle, he is planning to appeal tothe court of public opinion. Apart from his chancerystaff and other collaborators, the public in Albanyseems so willing to believe the accusations againsttheir bishop—whether they are true or not—for anumber of compelling reasons.Victims rights advocates, for example, havecriticized Bishop Hubbard for his opposition to theU.S. bishops "zero tolerance" policy adopted by thenational conference in 2002. That policy states thatany priest who has had sexual contact with a child—even if only once—be removed from ministry immediatelyand permanently. Bishop Hubbard defendedhis stance in the name of "compassion and forgiveness"for first time offenders.Many Catholics in the Diocese of Albany andbeyond have also been critical of Bishop Hubbard forfurther reasons, not the least of which is promotion ofa homosexualist agenda within the Catholic Church.For example, in 1991 the bishop defended his practiceof ordaining known homosexual priests, telling theTimes Union: "I believe the Church has a responsibilityto all its members…I don’t think gays or anybodyelse should be excluded from the ministry. Indeed, Ithink we have a responsibility to reach out to themwith sensitivity and compassion" (Feb. 22, 1991).As detailed in Paul Likoudis’s 2002 book“Amchurch Comes Out,” a number of priests ordainedby Bishop Hubbard (who is, by the way, theepiscopal moderator for the National Catholic AIDSNetwork) have since left the priesthood to "marry"another man, homosexually abused minors, andone—formerly Fr. Dennis Brennan—underwent asex-change operation and legally changed his name toDenise, all with Bishop Hubbard’s "understandingand guidance" (New York Post, Feb. 15, 2000).Along with Bishop Hubbard’s neighboringDiocese of Rochester, under the leadership of Hubbard’slongtime friend Bishop Matthew Clark, theDiocese of Albany has long been known as one of themost gay-friendly dioceses in the nation.Although Bishop Howard Hubbard is settingout with great gusto to prove himself innocent of anyand all allegations of homosexual misconduct, hisgreater challenge is going to be disassociating himselffrom suspicion that he has anything whatsoever to dowith the mysterious death of Fr. John Minkler, thebishop’s longtime detractor.Note: The Diocese of Albany has contracted formerU.S. attorney Mary Jo White at $770 per hour in orderto investigate the sexual allegations againstBishop Howard Hubbard. White invites anybody withinformation about possible sexual misconduct aboutBishop Hubbard to contact her by email at: independentinquiry10@yahoo.comor by telephone at 1-800-901-6853. Michael S. Rose is the author of severalbooks including the New York Times bestsellerGoodbye, Good Men. He is editor of Cruxnews.com23
Page 1 and 2: Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc. / AMD
Page 21: Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc. / AMD

Agony in Albany - The Roman Catholic Faithful

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?