ABUSE ALLEGED

Priest put on leave; investigation proceeds

Rev. Joseph R. Romano, an Albany diocesan priest who retired in 1999 from his post as a prison chaplain, has been placed on administrative leave by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard.

The action follows two recent complaints of sexual abuse, alleged to have occurred in the 1970s and '80s. One of the allegations had been brought to the Albany Diocese in the late summer of 2002; the second came within the past month.

A professional investigator hired by the Diocese conducted a preliminary investigation of both complaints and shared the results with the Diocesan Sexual Misconduct Panel. That panel has recommended to Bishop Hubbard that he remove Father Romano temporarily from all public ministry in the Diocese or elsewhere.

The Diocese said that Father Romano strongly denies the allegations. They will be further investigated and reviewed by the Diocese before a final determination is made in his case.

Biography

Following his ordination in 1966, Father Romano served as an associate pastor in several Albany city parishes and as an instructor in religion at St. Joseph's Academy and at Cardinal McCloskey High School, both in Albany.

He served as pastor of St. Ann's Church in Albany from 1974-'77 and then as pastor of St. Lucy's in Altamont until 1981, when he began working at LaSalle School in Albany. He served there as coordinator of religious education until his appointment in 1984 as full-time chaplain at Greene County Correctional Facility, operated by the New York State Department of Corrections. He retired from prison ministry in 1999.

Other assignments

Along with his full-time assignments, Father Romano held the posts of chairman of the Diocesan Realignment Committee (1974-'82) and chaplain of the Albany City Fire Department (1967-'92). He also served a term in the late 1970s as an appointee of Gov. Hugh Carey to the New York State Mental Health Advisory Board.

From 1979 until recently, Father Romano resided at St. Catherine of Siena parish in Albany, where he served as a weekend associate, assisting with parish Masses.

Following his retirement in 1999, he filled in at parishes throughout the Diocese as needed, including an assignment from June until September of 2000 as sacramental minister at Our Lady of Fatima parish in Delanson.

Father Romano is currently living at his parents' home in Florida, where he has spent the winter months since retiring. The Florida diocese where he resides has been notified of Bishop Hubbard's action, and Father Romano will be under the same ministerial restrictions there.