Rev. John Minkler died after accusing the Bishop of being a homosexual

Watervliet police said the Rev. John Minkler was found on the kitchen floor of his home by his sister on Sunday afternoon. Police Chief Jerry Beston there were no signs of trauma to the victim or forced entry. The chief said a note was found at the home, but he provided no details about it and would not say whether or not the death was self-inflicted. An autopsy is being conducted today.

Last week, Hubbard denied the truth of a letter released purportedly written by Minkler, which accused the bishop of homosexual relationships with two other priests. The church later announced that Minkler denied he wrote the letter, and today released a statement to that effect signed by Minkler.

The death of Minkler, 57, a Troy native who was a priest for 37 years and was serving as a chaplain at the Stratton Veterans Affairs Hospital in Albany, is the latest in a flood of unprecedented developments since Feb. 4, when Hubbard denied accusations that he had a homosexual relationship with a mentally troubled man who in 1978 killed himself because of that relationship. The following day another man accused the bishop of having sex with him in the 1970s when he was a teenage runaway.

The 64-year-old cleric, who has led the Albany diocese for 27 years, has repeatedly stated that he never broke his vows of celibacy and would prove his innocence.

After Albany County District Attorney Paul Clyne declined to investigate the allegations against the bishop, in large part, because they involved no alleged criminal activity and only hearsay evidence, the diocese announced it would hire an independent investigator to examine allegations against the bishop.

E-mail this article to a friend | Printer friendly format