Ordained: 1976
Status: Settled
Diocese: Diocese of Albany NY
The Diocese was aware of allegations of child sexual abuse against Father Mark Haight from the early days of his priesthood. He took a leave of absence from 1980-1985, but instead of undergoing treatment in 1980 after the allegations emerged, he obtained a job teaching children with a letter of recommendation from Bishop Hubbard. He was sent to the House of Affirmation in California for treatment in 1985 and then to the Servants of the Paraclete in New Mexico in 1989.
Reportedly, the Diocese settled with at least two men who alleged they were abused by Father Haight years prior in 1989 and 1997. Father Haight was reassigned as a hospital chaplain in 1990, but he was removed from the position in 1996 after the hospital learned of his history.
While still a seminarian in the mid-1970s, Father Haight allegedly abused a youth in Baltimore. His name was included on the Baltimore Archdiocese’s list in September 2002. A civil suit was filed in Boston in October 2004, claiming abuse by Father Haight and another priest at a church in Colonie, NY, and during trips to Massachusetts. There may be at least six additional victims. In January 2018, a man filed a suit in Vermont alleging that Father Haight had sexually abused him there as a child.
Father Haight’s name appeared on the Albany diocese’s list on November 30, 2018. In June 2022, a settlement of $750K was reached with a man who claimed he was abused by Father Haight in New York beginning in 1988 and continuing for over ten years. His name was also included in the MD Attorney General’s Report published on April 5, 2023.