Churchill: A great life story — and it's not over yet

[...] if you're going to type up a man's obit while he is alive, fairness and decency would seem to require that you tell him what you're up to, ask to meet and listen to his take on the events of his life.

The Lansingburgh native was a South End street priest, notable for working on heroin addiction before it was acknowledged as a serious problem, who became the ninth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany when he was just 38.

The influence of the church waned, and the calamitous horrors of the clergy sexual-abuse scandal undercut its moral standing.

"The priest was looked upon as person of integrity and authority in the community, and the scandal undermined that," Hubbard said.

The church, for all its flaws, remains a force for good and a potent critic of the emptiness of materialism and the throwaway culture.

Thankfully, the sweet humility of Pope Francis is amplifying that voice with an emphasis on the poor and forgotten, the vulnerable and the deformed, the voiceless and the powerless.

The men share a worldview — including that the church's power stems not from its wealth or hierarchy but from its capacity to lift the weak and see the light within each person.

Hubbard said he found the movie "Spotlight," about the Boston Globe's uncovering of the sexual abuse scandal in Boston, to be impressive and largely accurate.