Assignment Record – Bishop Howard James Hubbard

Summary of Case: Ordained a priest of the Albany diocese in 1963, Hubbard was elevated to bishop in 1977, at age 38. In February 2004, allegations surfaced that he had been sexually involved with male prostitutes, including minors, and with other young men and priests of the diocese. Hubbard denied the charges. Hubbard hired a former federal prosecutor to investigate him; she determined that there was no credible evidence against Hubbard. Retired in 2014.



Ordained: Dec. 18, 1963
Ordained Bishop: March 27, 1977
Retired: Feb. 11, 2014


   

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1963

Albany bishop was William Aloysius Scully (1954-1969).

1965 Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Albany

 NY 3/5

Hubbard is not indexed in the 1964 Directory.

The Cathedral had a school with 330 boys and 352 girls.

1965 1966 Catholic University Washington DC graduate student  

1966

Scully was succeeded by Edwin Bernard Broderick (1969-1976).

1977 St. John's Albany NY 4/4, 3/4, 5/5, 4/5, 2/3, 2/2
In residence. 		 
1967 1977 Catholic Interracial Council Albany NY Moderator St. John's had a school with 206-125 students, until 1972.
1969 1977 Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Albany NY Chair 1972-1976  
1973 1977 Priests Personnel Board Albany NY Chair  
1973 1974 Urban Apostolate (City of Albany) Albany NY    
1974 1977 Parish Realignment Committee Albany NY    
1974 1977 Pastoral Planning Albany NY Director  

1977

Broderick was replaced by Howard James Hubbard (1977- 2014).

2014  

Albany

• In 2004 accusations surfaced that Hubbard had been involved with male prostitutes, both minors and adults, and that he was known to have been sexually involved with other young men, including priests of the diocese. In Feb. 2004 a man held a press conference to report that his brother wrote in a 1978 suicide note that he had had a sexual relationship with a bishop named Howard. The brother set himself on fire in his parents' Albany home and died, at age 24. Another man in Feb. 2004 said that Hubbard paid him for sex in the 1970s, when the man was a teenage runaway. Hubbard denied the charges, stating that he had never broken his vow of celibacy.

NY Hubbard was appointed Bishop of Albany Feb. 1, 1977. He was ordained and installed March 27, 1977.

Hubbard hired a former federal prosecutor in 2004 to investigate the claims against him. She detailed the investigation in a June 2004 report, and determined that there was "no credible evidence" against Hubbard. The investigator did not have access to the man claiming to have been paid for sex as a teen by Hubbard.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1964-2011)

• Albany Bishop Refutes Allegations, Albany Times Union [Albany NY], February 5, 2004
• A Bishop Accused, Albany Times Union [Albany NY], February 8, 2004
• THE REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, June 24, 2004
• Inquiry Clears Hubbard, By Michele Morgan Bolton, Times Union, June 25, 2004
• A Fair Price for Faith in Hubbard, By Fred LeBrun, Times Union [Albany NY], August 8, 2004
• Accused Bishops List, BishopAccountability.org, April 14, 2008



Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Hubbard's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on July 20, 2014.