Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany finds credible evidence of sexual abuse by deceased priest

ALBANY (NY)
The Daily Gazette [Schenectady NY]

June 10, 2024

By Ted Remsnyder

Deceased priest Rev. J. Gregory Mulhall has been added to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany’s list of clergy who has been credibly accused of sexual abuse, the diocese announced over the weekend.

Mulhall, who died in 2001, was the subject of a formal complaint last year after a survivor came forward with allegations of sexual abuse.

The diocese announced on Saturday that the organization had found reasonable cause related to the allegations of sexual abuse by Mulhall against a vulnerable adult.

The victim of the abuse passed away before the diocese’s investigation was completed.

Following the conclusion of the diocese’s investigation, the group’s review board recommended to Bishop Edward Scharfenberger that there was sufficient evidence to support the victim’s allegation as credible, according to the diocese.

Mulhall is the 53rd member of the diocese’s list of clergy removed from ministry who have been accused of sexual misconduct while serving with the organization.

Mulhall, a native of Ilion in Herkimer County, was ordained a priest in 1937 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany.

Mulhall served at St. John the Evangelist in Lambertville, N.J. from 1937 to 1940 before returning to the Diocese of Albany in 1940, serving at St. Vincent de Paul in Albany from 1940 to 1961, as well as serving for 17 years at Vincentian Institute in Albany.

Mulhall, who died at age 90, served at Church of the Annunciation in Ilion from 1961 to 1985.

In addition to the 53 clergy members who were credibly accused of sexual misconduct while serving with the Albany diocese, five members of the clergy associated with the diocese who were credibly accused of misconduct while serving at other parishes have also been identified by the diocese since 2019.

During Mulhall’s stint with the Vincentian Institute in Albany, he served as a teacher at the school for 17 years and principal for four.

According to Mulhall’s obituary, he taught moral guidance to senior male students and religion to the eighth grade students at the site’s grammar school. The obituary states that while Mulhall served at the now-shuttered Albany school, he was in charge of the school’s roster of altar boys, which numbered 150 students.

Contact Ted Remsnyder at tremsnyder@dailygazette.net. Follow him on X at @TedRemsnyder.

https://www.dailygazette.com/news/albany-diocese-priest-abuse/article_b522a506-275f-11ef-b339-e7c02e6e8414.html