"Diocese names priests being removed: Hubbard announces six [Catholic] priests being withdrawn from ministry. By Phil Baly.  ALBANY, N.Y., June 28 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany Friday disclosed the names of six priests who are being permanently removed from ministry because of what it calls 'substantiated incidents of sexual abuse of minors.' BISHOP HOWARD HUBBARD reportedly met with the diocese's priests Thursday and informed them who would no longer be in the ministry.  The six priests are: Rev. David G. Bentley, ... ***Rev. John P. Bertolucci*** ... Rev. Edward Leroux, ... Rev. Joseph A. Mancuso, ... Rev. Edward C. Pratt, ... [and] Rev. James J. Rosch ... According to the diocese, in each case the sex abuse took place anywhere from 15 to 35 years ago and no reoccurrence have ever been alleged. Source: Associated Press" [Posted by 'fatima', http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/707010/posts?page=22#22].

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"Diocese removes six priests: Sexual abuse histories cited, By ANDREW TILGHMAN, Staff writer. First published: Saturday, June 29, 2002. Stephen Dombroski, 70, of Latham, who was hurrying into St. Ambrose Church with a prayer book in hand for a noon Mass, recalled Bertolucci's many years at the church and said he was in total disbelief. 'He acted like a saint in all of his dealings,' Dombroski said. 'The way he blessed things gave you a very good feeling, like it was coming from heaven'" [Ibid]. [Dusty’s note: Bertolucci has a very high profile both inside and outside the Catholic Church.  Had his case been the least serious, one would have expected that Rome would not have lumped him in with the others, but would have released more details in his case so that less dirt was attached to him personally.]

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"I did not have sexual intercourse with your son, I only fondled him.. I was very proud of your son, the way he repeatedly fought off my sexual advances most of the time. I want you to know that I still love your son after all these years." --The alleged words of Rev. John Bertolucci, who is being sued for conspiring to intimidate an alleged sexual abuse victim from lodging a formal complaint in Albany, New York. [Andrew Tilghman, Diocese battles RICO lawsuit," Times Union (Albany, NY), February 4, 2003. ['In Catholic Circles, An International News Roundup, Spring 2003, www.cath4choice.org/new/incathcircles/iccbottompg2vol8no1.htm].

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"ALBANY (NY), Disgraced priest's self-serving views don't deserve attention, Times-Union, Letter to the Editor: I found Andrew Tilghman's interview with child-abuser Father John Bertolucci to be very disturbing (July 21). I wish the word "disgraced" instead of the frequently cited weaker term "embarrassed" had been used throughout the article. I was sickened by the media personality and nationally prominent televangelist Bertolucci's constantly self-serving comments. How reassuring that he is a 'beloved author' and states that he is 'deeply loved by a lot of people,' received 'supportive voice mails' and that 'no one has criticized him to his face.' [Posted by Bill Mitchell on 7/26/2002 03:36:15 PM, www.poynterextra.org/extra/abusetracker/2002_07_21_archive.htm].

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