Father Gregory Weider, a retired priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany who has been serving as Sacramental Minister at Sacred Heart in Margaretville and its mission, St. Anne’s in Andes, has been removed from public ministry by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, effective Aug. 14, due to an allegation of sexual abuse related to a Child Victims Act (CVA) filing. While on administrative leave, Father Weider will not publicly officiate at sacraments, wear clerical garb, or present himself as a priest.
Since his ordination in 1963, Father Weider, 84, has served at the following locations: Blessed Sacrament, Mohawk; St. Anthony, Schenectady; St. Agnes, Cohoes; St. Thomas the Apostle, Delmar; St. Mary’s, Coxsackie; Holy Cross, Albany; Sacred Heart, Watervliet; and Holy Trinity, Schaghticoke, which was the merger of St. John the Baptist and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Johnsonville, and St. Monica, Valley Falls. He also served as diocesan chaplain for scouting; assistant national chaplain for scouting; chaplain at Samaritan Hospital in Troy, with residence at Our Lady of Victory, and chaplain at St. Mary’s Hospital, Amsterdam. He retired from full-time ministry in 2010.
The Albany 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