Albany, NY – Pope Francis has appointed Boston Auxiliary Bishop Edward B. O’Connell as the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, the Vatican announced today, February 16, 2024. O’connell will succeed Bishop Terry LaValley, who retired in 2023.
The appointment comes as the Albany diocese continues to navigate the aftermath of widespread clergy sexual abuse scandals and a recent $8 million settlement finalized last week with a man who alleged abuse by a former high-ranking priest. The settlement was reached just days before the diocese was scheduled to face its first trial under New York’s Child Victims Act, legislation passed in 2019 that temporarily lifted statutes of limitations on abuse claims.
Bishop O’Connell’s arrival also follows a period of significant transition for the diocese, marked by the tenures of previous leaders including Bishops Howard J. Hubbard and Edward Scharfenberger. Hubbard, who retired in 2014, later married after the Vatican denied his request for laicization. His leadership was shadowed by admissions of decades-long cover-ups of abuse allegations, including the practice of transferring accused priests between parishes without warning potential victims or their families. In some instances, these priests continued to abuse children while working at Catholic-run treatment centers.
Scharfenberger, who also oversaw the scandal-plagued Buffalo diocese during his time in albany, recently listened to testimony from dozens of abuse survivors in U.S. District Court in Albany.
the Diocese of Albany is currently involved in a bankruptcy case, with seven child sexual abuse lawsuits slated for trial as part of an effort to encourage mediation.O’connell will inherit a diocese grappling with financial challenges and a need to rebuild trust with the faithful.
Hubbard had succeeded Bishop Edwin B. Broderick in 1977,who was than appointed director of Catholic Relief Services in New York City.
