ALBANY (NY)
Times Union [Albany NY]
June 8, 2024
The Albany Roman Catholic Diocese said Saturday it found reasonable cause in a sexual abuse allegation against a priest who died almost 23 years ago following an investigation
The diocese said in a statement it will add the late Rev. J. Gregory Mulhall to its List of Credibly Accused in an abuse case of a vulnerable adult. The survivor in this case came forward with a formal complaint in 2023, sharing details needed for an investigation, the diocese said. A review board recommended to Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger that there was sufficient evidence to support the allegation as credible and the bishop has accepted the recommendation.
“Sadly, the survivor passed away before the investigation concluded,” the diocese said.
Mulhall retired in 1985 after serving about 24 years at the Annunciation Church in the Herkimer County village of Ilion. He died Nov. 14, 2001, at the age of 90 at Our Lady of Hope Residence in Latham.
He was ordained in May 1937, and assigned to St. Peter’s in Stillwater. By September 1937, he was sent to assist the diocese of Trenton, N.J., assigned to St. John the Evangelist in Lambertville, N.J., according to the Albany diocese. He served there from 1937 to 1940. He returned to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany in 1940, serving at St. Vincent de Paul in Albany between 1940 and 1961, followed by his time at Annunciation in Ilion. Mulhall also served for 17 years at Vincentian Institute in Albany as both teacher and principal.
Three other allegations of sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult were filed with the victims assistance coordinator against Mulhall, the diocese said. None of those victims/survivors filled out formal complaint statements, nor did they want to follow through with the review board process, the diocese said. There are four Child Victim’s Act cases filed naming Mulhall as the alleged abuser.
The diocese urges anyone who was sexually abused by a Catholic priest or deacon to report the matter to a law enforcement agency or to the diocese. To report an incident of abuse or to seek help, contact the Diocese’s Assistance Coordinator Noelle Marie at 518-453-6646 or via email at assistance.coordinator@rcda.org.