The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany has assured members of the City Council that the six churches slated to close in the city over the next eighteen months will maintained once their doors are shut.

Members of the Democratic majority on the council had previously sent a letter to the diocese asking for a meeting to discuss the future safety and maintenance of the structures.

Councilman John Brown, D-At Large, recently met with Noel Olsen, director of real property for the diocese, to talk about the matter.

"I was pleased to hear that there will be consistent monitoring of these properties and that the diocese has pledged to not close these buildings and just walk away," said Brown, who noted possible developers had already made inquiries into several of the structures and that St. Francis de Sale, which will be the first church in the city to close, could be for sale in coming weeks.

"Again, this is a difficult time for members of the Catholic faith in Troy and for parishioners throughout the city. We all wish things were ending differently, but the city's responsibility is to quality of life, neighborhood safety, and re-development," he added. "I am looking forward to further dialogue between the city and the diocese so we can work hand-in-hand to re-use buildings and to keep the people of Troy informed about any progress."

Councilmen Gary Galuski, D-District 6, Ken Zalewski, D-District 5, and Peter Ryan, D-District 3, also supported the effort to ensure the buildings would continue to be safe after their closure.

As part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany's "Called to BE Church" initiative, six churches in the city will close.

St. Patrick's will close by July 1, 2010.

St. Peter's will close by May 31, 2009.

St. Paul the Apostle will close by May 31, 2009.

St. Francis de Sales will close by Feb. 25, 2009.

St. Mary's will close by July 1, 2010.

St. William's will close by Feb. 25, 2009.

To read more about closures across the Capital District, click here.

In a decision issued Thursday, the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court suspended attorney John Aretakis from practicing law for one year after finding him guilty of professional misconduct.

Aretakis was charged with engaging in frivolous conduct by making false accusations against judges that were both prejudicial and malicious, false statements of law and fact, and engaging in conduct that adversely reflected on his fitness as an attorney.

In their decision, Appellate Division justices outlined various incidents from 2005 to 2007 where Aretakis had been sanctioned by multiple judges for his behavior in the court room.

The accounts of Aretakis’ conduct included being “sloppy and unprofessional,” alleging theories about the Catholic Church and federal government, and making baseless assertions in court only for the purpose of harassing defendants in a case.
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Aretakis initially responded by saying the following:

"Bishop Hubbard has used all of his resources, influence, and power to try to muzzle me for the past six years due to my effective work in exposing sexual predators in ministry.

I call upon Governor Paterson to investigate this unfair and unprecedented punishment. I am one of only two attorneys in all of New York state who fights sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

I will continue to work in every capacity that I am allowed to in order to expose those who sexually abuse children and those individuals such as Bishop Hubbard who continue to cover up these crimes."
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Aretakis is currently in the Bahamas for the weekend and plans to hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon at his home in North Greenbush to answer further questions.

The Catholic Church initially chose not to comment on his suspension, which will take effect in 20 days and will forbid him from practicing law in any form for one year, according to the decision.