Posted on 02/22/2004 6:33:24 PM PST by NYer
Outside the hotel, was a small group of catholics carrying purple placards in support of the bishop. I arrived inside the small conference room around 5:45pm and was surprised that nearly all of the seats were taken! There were, of course, camera crews from every local tv media, reporters from Reuters, the Times Union, the Troy Record and several radio stations as well.
Stephen Brady stepped up to the microphone promptly at 6pm. He began the meeting, by asking everyone to pray the Memorare. As he finished, the Hubbard supporters marched into the room chanting "We support the bishop". Brady began praying the Our Father into the microphone, called for security and asked them to remove the placards. When the protesters continued to shout, Brady moved right into the Hail Mary and asked the protesters to please be quiet or leave. They settled down.
Assuming that most of the folks in the room no little about him, much less his organization, he went right into what motivated him to begin RCF, when they were incorporated and their operating budget, mostly made up of $5 and $10 contributions from faithful catholics. He then shifted right into the meat of how he conducts inquiries, running right down the litany of bishops and priests that have been removed from their positions as a result of RCF. There were many stunned 'gasps' as he described in graphic detail, the testimonies in many of the documents he has gathered over the years. Eventually he made his way into how he became involved in the Albany diocese. He was invited by a woman from St. Mary's in Oneonta, who had been pushed around by her pastor, for trying to distribute literature outside the church on valid catholic teaching. She contacted Brady who accompanied her to that now famous mass. Brady described the sign on the door saying that 'anyone' who wanted to assist as an EEM need only show up 15 minutes before the mass. He then talked about the 'home made' bread used for the consecration and how Hubbard had a difficult time breaking it. "That's when I knew there were problems in the diocese", he said. The minute he mentioned Fr. Raiche, a woman in the audience jumped out of her chair and kept jumping up and down shouting "Yeah, Fr. Raiche! He's a great priest!" She was escorted out of the room.
Brady is a forceful speaker and left no doubt in anyone's mind as to the sincerity behind what it is he does. Sadly, his wife called him earlier this evening to say that their daughter had suffered a miscarriage this afternoon.
Brady then began speaking about Fr. Minkler. Minkler called Brady on January 8, 2001. He told him that he had done a report on abuses in the Albany diocese. The report was done at the request of Cardinal O'Connor. O'Connor was frustrated with the situation in Albany, and was concerened that Rome wouldn't do anything about it. Brady then looked around the room, and told everyone that after all they had heard about the coverups in other dioceses, "you know they will never find the report" that Minkler had filed.
Brady then turned the microphone over to Paul Likoudis, who began to read a statement on the death of "my friend and collaborator of 13 years", when one of Hubbard's supporters shouted out that they would be holding a press conference just outside. More security guards ... lol!
Paul Likoudis was the "meat" of tonight's meeting. He met Fr. Minkler 13 years ago and they hit it off right away. Minkler was "well placed" to supply information as his position put him in contact with police, judges and others who provided records.
He then opened the questions up to the press first since they had shown up. Not too many questions from them until a woman, wearing a purple ribbon, walked up to a microphone and began to read a prepared speech. Just then, a woman in the audience stood up, walked over to the woman at the microphone and told her to leave. This confrontation went on for more than 5 minutes and will surely get lots of air time on the news.
It was now time to open the questions up to the public and most of them were about Fr. Minkler. Here is a summation of what was said.
Minkler returned from a retreat on Friday, and heard a message on his answering machine calling him down to the Chancery.
When Fr. Minkler arrived at the Chancery he did not meet with Bishop Hubbard but passed him in the hall. He was called into Fr. Doyle's office where he was handed a statement to sign.
At 7pm Friday night, he spoke with Paul Likoudis, after signing the disclaimer. He said that he was to meet with Bishop Hubbard on Monday. He told him he had signed the disclaimer with reservations. Likoudis suggested that Fr. Minkler go public with the information before the meeting.
Likoudis: "Spill your guts to the media".
Minkler: "No, he'll kill me if I do that"
Likoudis suggested that he speak with Fr. Wilson.
Likoudis called Fr. Minkler again on Saturday @10:30am and asked him if he was okay? Minkler told him that Fr. Wilson had a good understanding of the situation in Albany.
And there ends most of this evening's meeting. I'll post additional items as I sift through my notes.
Do we take this literally?
Did your daughter go with you?
Sounds like the supporters of the bishop are rather emotional? And women, of course!
Did you hook up with anyone you hit it off with?
Between March and May, 1991, Paul Likoudis wrote a 9 week expose for The Wanderer on the situation here entitled: Agony in Albany. In it, he spoke of a reign of psychological and institutional terror to priests, individually and collectively. In Part 1, he mentions that "it was an extremely risky thing for priests to meet with him but those priests spared no details in cataloguing the serious problems afflicting the Diocese of Albany and involving its Bishop.
As one priest said, "We have to tell people the truth, so that something will be done for this Diocese. The situation now is as extreme as we want to see. We have a Bishop who, at best, doesn't care about the clergy. We feel very angry; we feel betrayed."
He brought copies to tonight's meeting and I will try to read through it over the next few days.
Also, one of Hubbard's supporters tonight, asked Brady if he had any legal documentation on Hubbard. The answer is no.
You especially will appreciate a comment made by one of the protesters. This woman was well dressed, middle aged and not in the least the "hysterical" type. The one common factor amongst all of them was their failure to listen and absorb "the other side of the story".
As she was being 'escorted' away from the microphone where she had planned to read a prepared speech, and in frustration, she turned to everyone in the room and said:
"Why don't you start your own church!"
They just don't get it! Brady said: "let her go".
She planned to attend but is battling the flu so she stayed home. Good thing or she probably would have shouted that woman down at the microphone!
Did you hook up with anyone you hit it off with?
I did meet another woman from my parish. She attends the 7:30am mass on Sundays which is a "quiet" mass. I also ran into a former co-worker from the business school where I used to work and a state employee who worked on my floor last year. Otherwise, it was just so focused and concentrated on Brady and his message. Everyone seemed quite impressed with him.
There was another person there who runs Concerned Catholics or something like that. Many people were wearing large crucifixes and medals. All were well behaved and totally absorbed in what Brady had to say.
I don't appreciate that comment at all. It's your Amchurch bishops that have started their own churches. As for me, I'll stick with the Faith of my Fathers.
I just find it so fantastic and soul quenching to talk to people who love the faith in the same way - and like you said, they always wear medals or crucifixes - not afraid to be embarrassed. Also the really faith filled ones are always happy and not the ones disrupting by yelling and screaming.
One woman spoke about the death scene, noting he blanket on the floor with Fr. Minkler lieing face down and the pill bottle nearby. Her comments reflected what many of us have been wondering. Would someone intent on commiting suicide, drag a blanket into their kitchen, take some pills and then lie face down to await their death. Most people, it seems, would lie down on a bed or sit back in a chair.
When the woman asked Likoudis if he thought that Fr. Minkler might have been murdered, the Hubbard supporters emitted a loud scream!
One thing is certain. Likoudis spoke with Fr. Minkler 3x before his death. He said that at NO TIME did Minkler convey a sense of desperation. He did repeat that Minkler was afraid of Hubbard. So much so that over the past few months, instead of mailing his reports to Likoudis from his home address, he would send them through a third party.
"(Brady's) quoted as saying he wants to take the diocese back," Ladouceur said. "The problem is he wants to take it back to the 15th century."
Same tired canard. Scare tactics. We just want a diocese that teaches the faith according to the Magisterium, educates our kids without undermining their faith, scorns sin, nutures holy familes where holy priests and bishops are born, has reverent Masses without innovation and quits screwing around with the beautiful and distinctive Catholic architecture of our churches.
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