BRAINTREE -- Speaking at a press conference on Oct. 20, Bishop-elect of Albany Mark O'Connell promised that in his new office, he would work to heal the wounds that financial hardship and the clergy sexual abuse scandal have wrought on his future diocese.

"I'm very confident, as I go to this diocese, we will make new disciples," he said. "My confidence comes from my experience, and I think beautifully matches the needs of this local church. I don't know everything, I will learn, but so much of what I've done in the past seems to match what I think is needed here."

Bishop O'Connell was made auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston in 2016, and vicar general of the archdiocese in 2023. That same year, the Diocese of Albany filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and currently faces over 400 sex abuse lawsuits.

Bishop O'Connell was a canon lawyer new to the Archdiocese of Boston when the sex abuse crisis hit. In 2007, he became the archdiocese's judicial vicar and prosecuted sexual abuse cases within the church's tribunal system.

"So that means a lot of being sensitive to victim-survivors and the priests accused, and there's an awful lot of scrutiny and tensions along the way," he said.

He said that the diocese is in the midst of "chaotic times," but he wants to show "the good people of Albany this evidence of God's grace."

"There is shame, there is sadness, but there's also a chance to acknowledge sinfulness and continue to reach out in love to those who have been so terribly hurt," he said. "There's an opportunity in that the church is better, stronger when we do this."

He promised to "comfort those who need comfort" and continue to meet with survivors to hear their stories.

"It's not going away, and it would be a sin to want it to go away because it is present," he said of the abuse crisis.

He said, in Boston, he has spoken to survivors of clergy abuse who returned to church.

"It took incredible courage for these people," he said, "but they go and they give talks in parishes, and they're still hurt, but they understood that it was a priest that hurt them and perhaps a hierarchy that hurt them with bad decisions, but God did not want them to suffer."

Journalists at the press conference asked him about several issues affecting the diocese, including an ongoing lawsuit by hundreds of employees of St. Clare's Hospital in Schenectady demanding $35 million in unpaid pensions, and the diocese settling a sex abuse lawsuit for $8 million on Oct. 17. Bishop O'Connell said he was not knowledgeable enough about the details to answer, but said that reparations for victims of abuse can "come in many forms."

"Reparation is much more healing, it's about apologies, and it's about listening and making sure that it can't happen again," he said. "So when victim-survivors know that they're heard and valued, and that I am sincere, that's when trust is built, much more so than a settlement where so much was lawyers."

He also said that he will look into Bishop Scharfenberger's plans to address the diocese's struggling parishes and schools, including the possibility of closures. Bishop O'Connell said he wants to "empower" parishes to come up with a plan for their future.

"A parish that is hurting needs to be looked at more than a statistic," he said.

He referred to his experience in Boston, where financial difficulties and demographic shifts required two rounds of parish closures. He acknowledged that the first round of parish closures was a "disaster" and "done very, very poorly" compared to the second round.

"I learned lessons from both of those," he said.

He said that in the Archdiocese of Boston, there is "light at the end of the tunnel" as parishes, finances, and vocations are recovering from the lows of the sex abuse crisis. The Diocese of Albany will have to go through a similar recovery, he said, but he faces the responsibility with "joy."

"I want to focus on getting through what we have to get through," he said.

Bishop O'Connell's installation as Albany's 11th bishop is scheduled for Dec. 5.