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Bishop Scharfenberger Seeks Advisement of Independent Review Board on Three Retired Clergy Named in CVA Cases

August 27, 2021

Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger has asked the independent Diocesan Review Board to offer advisement on the following clergy, each of whom has an allegation of child sexual abuse filed against him through the Child Victims Act. None of the clergy serve in public ministry due to illness or age, and all of them maintain their innocence. 

Rev. James Daley was ordained in 1954. He has served at St. Patrick, Troy; Catholic Central High School, Troy; Mater Christi Seminary, Albany; and St. Thomas the Apostle, Delmar, where was pastor from 1970 until 2002, when he retired.

Rev. Dennis Murphy was ordained in 1975. He has served at St. John, Greenville; Vincentian Institute, Albany, with residence at Sacred Heart, Albany; St. Ambrose, Latham; St. Cecilia, Warrensburg; St. Peter, Saratoga Springs; St. Margaret of Cortona, Rotterdam Junction; St. John the Baptist, Walton; St. Peter, Delhi; and Our Lady of Hope, Fort Plain. He retired in 2016.

Rev. Nellis Tremblay was ordained in 1954. He has served at St. John the Baptist, Schenectady; St. Patrick, Albany; Our Lady of Mercy, Colonie; Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany; Vincentian Institute, Albany; Sacred Heart, Cohoes; Notre Dame, Whitehall; St. Joseph, Albany; and St. Cecilia, Warrensburg. He retired in 1998 and served at local parishes in the Lake George area for some time afterward.

Because these cases are in litigation, the independent Diocesan Review Board’s ability to investigate is currently limited. When the legal proceedings are complete, the Diocese will pursue its own investigation, if warranted.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany takes all allegations of child sexual abuse seriously. The Diocese urges anyone who as a child 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, Frederick Jones, at (518) 453-6646 or by email at assistance.coordinator@rcda.org.