Howard James Hubbard

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Howard J. Hubbard DD
Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Albany
Hubbard at his retirement party in 2014
Province	New York
Diocese	Albany
Appointed	February 1, 1977
Installed	March 27, 1977
Term ended	April 10, 2014
Predecessor	Edwin B. Broderick
Successor	Edward Bernard Scharfenberger
Orders
Ordination	December 18, 1963 by Martin John O'Connor
Consecration	March 27, 1977 by Terence Cooke, Edwin Broderick, and Edward Joseph Maginn
Personal details
Born	(1938-10-31) October 31, 1938 (age 82) Troy, New York
Nationality	U.S.A.
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Motto	Rejoice, We Are God’s People

Styles of Howard James Hubbard
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

Howard James Hubbard, DD (born October 31, 1938) is a United States prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Albany. Hubbard was the ninth Bishop of Albany, serving as bishop from March 27, 1977, to April 10, 2014.

Early life and ministry[]

Howard Hubbard was born in Troy, New York, to Howard and Elizabeth Hubbard. He attended St. Patrick's School and La Salle Institute, entering Mater Christi Seminary in 1956. He furthered his studies at St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie, (where he obtained a college degree in philosophy) and Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. While in Rome, Hubbard was ordained to the priesthood on December 18, 1963.^[1][2] He engaged in graduate study in the field of social services at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.^[3]

Prior to his appointment as Bishop of Albany, Hubbard served as associate pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Schenectady and at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany.^[4] Hubbard also founded Hope House (a drug rehabilitation center)^[5] and Providence House (a crisis intervention center)^[4] and served as a "street priest" in Albany's South End.^[6] He served as Vicar General of the Diocese from 1976 to 1977.^[7]

Episcopal career[]

On February 2, 1977, Hubbard was appointed Bishop of Albany by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on March 27, 1977.^[4] He was the youngest bishop in the country at the time, and was dubbed "the boy bishop."^[6]

Hubbard served as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee for International Justice and Peace^[8] and on the Subcommittees on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the Church in Africa. He also served on other national bishops’ committees, including the Committees on Human Values, Marriage and the Family, Communication, Laity and North American College.^[9] Hubbard was appointed by Pope John Paul II to the Vatican's Secretariat for Non-Christians (later known as the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue).^[8] He is a supporter of the ecumenical movement, serving as Roman Catholic Co-chair of the Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation. Under his leadership as bishop, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany maintained an active Catholic-Jewish dialogue.^[6]

During his tenure as bishop, Hubbard presided over a nearly $20 million renovation project at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.^[6] He also led a parish consolidation process—known as "Called to BE Church"—that resulted in the closing of 33 parishes.^[5]

Hubbard had a reputation as a liberal bishop.^[10][11] He is known for progressive views on drug addicts and prisoners, and for advocacy of sometimes unpopular social justice issues.^[6] He is also noted for his anti-poverty efforts.^[12][6] Upon becoming bishop, Hubbard sold a large house where previous bishops had lived in luxury with a domestic staff. He also dispensed with the custom of having a luxury car and a driver.^[6] In 1992, he began living "in almost monastic simplicity in a nondescript, squat brick building" across the street from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.^[6] As of 2013, then-Bishop Hubbard reportedly collected an annual salary of $33,508, the same salary as any diocesan priest with a similar number of years of service.^[6] Hubbard once sued to prevent abortion clinics from opening in the cities of Albany and Hudson,^[13] and he headed New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty.^[14]

Abuse crisis and allegations[]

In February 2004, Hubbard was accused of having engaged in homosexual activity with two different men in the 1970s.^[12] Hubbard denied the accusations and asserted that he had never broken his vow of celibacy.^[12] At the request of the Diocese of Albany, the accusations against Hubbard were investigated by former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White.^[12] In June 2004, White released a 200-page report stating that she had found no credible evidence to support the accusations against Hubbard. White added that the investigation found "no evidence that Hubbard 'led a homosexual lifestyle, engaged in homosexual relations or visited gay bars'".^[15][5] Furthermore, White indicated that her investigative team had reviewed more than 20,000 documents and conducted over 300 interviews in connection with the Hubbard investigation.^[16]

Also in 2004, the Diocese of Albany reported that 19 priests had committed sexual abuse in the past 53 years, and that investigations were pending into allegations involving 10 current and former priests.^[12] On March 19, 2011, Hubbard placed three retired priests on administrative leave and removed another from the ministry after receiving allegations of child sexual abuse.^[17] Hubbard has apologized for shortcomings in the way that he and the Diocese responded to the sexual abuse crisis.^[6] In 2004, during Hubbard's tenure, the Diocese of Albany created the Independent Mediation Assistance Program; this program allowed persons who were abused by diocesan priests or employees as minors to request and obtain financial assistance.^[18][19]

On August 14, 2019, a civil lawsuit was filed in which Hubbard was accused of sexually abusing a teenaged boy in the 1990s.^[20][21] On August 16, Hubbard responded, "'With full and complete confidence, I can say this allegation is false. I have never sexually abused anyone in my life. I have trust in the canonical and civil legal processes and believe my name will be cleared in due course.'" Hubbard also announced that he was taking a voluntary leave of absence from public ministry until the matter was resolved.^[22] On September 16, 2019, an unnamed woman alleged that Hubbard and two other priests had sexually abused her in the rectory of Immaculate Conception Church in Schenectady in the late 1970s when she was a teenager. Hubbard denied this accusation as well.^[23]

On August 12, 2020, it was revealed that the fifth lawsuit accusing Hubbard of child sex abuse was filed with the New York Supreme Court.^[24] The lawsuit alleges that Hubbard sexually abused a then 10-year-old boy on an empty church bus which Hubbard and church kids took during a trip to West Point in 1975.^[24] It was alleged that Hubbard was able bring the boy, now a man living in South Carolina, back to the bus because the boy complained he was ill.^[24]

While continuing to deny all allegations of abuse against him, Hubbard has acknowledged that the past practice of the Diocese was to send clergy offenders for treatment and counselling in privacy, rather than to involve the criminal justice system. ^[25]

Retirement[]

Hubbard submitted his required letter of resignation to Pope Francis on October 31, 2013, when he reached the age of 75.^[26] On February 11, 2014, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had accepted Hubbard's resignation and appointed as his successor Rev. Msgr. Edward Bernard Scharfenberger, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Episcopal Vicar for the area of Queens.^[27][28] Hubbard's final day as Bishop of Albany was April 10, 2014, the day Scharfenberger was consecrated and installed as Bishop of Albany.^[29][30] At the time of his retirement, Hubbard's tenure as bishop was the longest in the Diocese's history at 37 years.^[31] Hubbard's post-retirement title is Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Albany.^[29][8]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]

• Diocese of Albany

Episcopal succession[]