Edward Bernard Scharfenberger (born May 29, 1948) is a retired Roman Catholic prelate from the U.S. state of New York. Scharfenberger served as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany from 2014 to 2025.
Scharfenberger was born on May 29, 1948, in Bushwick, Brooklyn.[1] He is the oldest of five children of Edward Scharfenberger Sr. (1920–2015) and Elaine Magdal (1920–2019).[2] Scharfenberger has Russian Jewish ancestry through his mother.[2][3]
Scharfenberger received his priestly ordination on July 2, 1973, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Bishop James Hickey, rector of the North American College. He was incardinated into his native diocese, the Diocese of Brooklyn.[6][4] Following his 1973 ordination, the diocese assigned Scharfenberger to the pastoral staffs at St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Maspeth, New York and St. Ephrem Parish in Brooklyn, New York.[7]
Scharfenberger served as pastor of St. Matthias Parish in Ridgewood, Queens, from 2003 to 2014.[4] In addition to doing pastoral work for decades, he held various roles in the diocesan curia. He served as a member of the diocesan tribunal, a judicial vicar, an adviser to the canonical ordinary, and a promoter of justice and member of the committee for sexually abused children. In 2013, Scharfenberger was appointed to the post of episcopal vicar for the Borough of Queens.[8]
Scharfenberger has served as a consultor to the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, as well as five committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: the National Advisory Council, the Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Committee, the Administrative Committee, the Committee on Priorities and Plans, and the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa.[12][bettersourceneeded]
Scharfenberger said in 2018 that laypeople should investigate bishops accused of sexual abuse and failure to address cases of sexual abuse. In responding to Cardinal Donald Wuerl's suggestion that a committee of bishops should investigate allegations into other bishops in the aftermath of the sexual abuse scandal of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Scharfenberger said that "we have reached a point where bishops alone investigating bishops is not the answer."[13]
In March 2023, Scharfenberger announced that the diocese had filed for Chapter II bankruptcy protection. It was facing hundreds of legal claims from persons alleging that they had been victims of child sexual abuse.[14]
I shudder to think of the consequences this law will wreak. You have already uttered harsh threats about the welcome you think pro-lifers are not entitled to in our state. Now you are demonstrating that you mean to write your warning into law. Will being pro-life one day be a hate crime in the State of New York?[16]
In October 2018, Scharfenberger celebrated the feast day of Our Lady of Walsingham with Dean Leander Harding at the Episcopal Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, a celebration observed both by Catholics and Anglicans. Afterwards, Scharfenberger told the congregation that there were more similarities than differences between the two denominations.[19]
The New YorkTimes reported in December 2019 that Scharfenberger had "gained a reputation for taking a more empathetic approach in his handling of the abuse crisis." At a news conference announcing his appointment as apostolic administrator, Scharfenberger said, "I am here to walk with you, and I am [here] to help you heal." Scharfenberger's responsibilities as bishop of Albany were left unchanged.[20]
On April 28, 2020, Scharfenberger notified 23 priests in the Diocese of Buffalo who had been either suspended due to sex crimes or accused of sex crimes that due to the diocese's bankruptcy agreement, it could no longer make retirement payments, health care, car insurance or dental care to them.[22]
On January 15, 2021, Bishop Michael Fisher was installed as bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo, taking over for Scharfenberger.[23]
Resignation
In September 2023, Scharfenberger submitted his mandatory resignation letter to the Vatican upon the occasion of his 75th birthday.[24]
On October 20, 2025, Scharfenberger's resignation from the position of Bishop of Albany was accepted by Pope Leo XIV. The Pope appointed Bishop Mark O'Connell, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, to replace Scharfenberger.[25][26]
St. Clare’s Hospital pension lawsuit
In December 2025, a Schenectady County jury found Scharfenberger and five other defendants liable for the collapse of the St. Clare’s Hospital pension fund, which left over 1,100 retirees with little to no benefits.[27] The jury determined that Scharfenberger, who succeeded Bishop Howard Hubbard in 2014, had breached his fiduciary duties and assigned him 10% of the fault for the fund's failure.
The jury awarded the pensioners $54.2 million in compensatory damages, ruling that Scharfenberger and other leaders were acting as agents of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany when the wrongful acts occurred. Although the jury also cleared the way for punitive damages, the second phase of the trial was abruptly halted on December 16, 2025, after Scharfenberger filed for personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Personal life
Scharfenberger was diagnosed with colon cancer in November 2021 and underwent surgery.[28] Scharfenberger speaks fluent Italian, Spanish and German. He is able to celebrate Mass in Polish and knows some Hebrew, Russian and Portuguese.[2]
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