the Cathedral underwent a restoration process in the 21st century. After $19 million total had been spent, the cathedral was reopened in 2010 and rededicated on its 158th anniversary later that year. A thousand people attended the Mass celebrated by Hubbard along with his New York counterpart, Timothy Dolan, and Dolan's predecessor, Cardinal Edward Egan. Many who attended were impressed with the restoration, particularly the return of the original paint. Clergy abuse scandal In 2004, the Diocese of Albany reported that 19 priests had committed acts of sexual abuse in the past 53 years, and that investigations were pending into allegations involving 10 current and former priests. In February 2004, Bishop Hubbard was accused of having engaged in homosexual activity with two different men in the 1970s. Hubbard denied the accusations and asserted that he had never broken his vow of celibacy. At the request of the Diocese of Albany, the accusations against Hubbard were investigated by former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White. In June 2004, White released a 200-page report stating that she had found no credible evidence to support the accusations against Hubbard. On March 19, 2011, Bishop Howard Hubbard placed three retired priests on administrative leave and removed another from the ministry after receiving allegations of child sexual abuse. That same year, the Diocese of Albany created the Independent Mediation Assistance Program; this program allowed persons who were abused by diocesan priests or employees as minors to request and obtain financial assistance. Hubbard later acknowledged that the past practice of the Diocese was to send clergy offenders for treatment and counselling in privacy, rather than to involve the criminal justice system; he expressed regret for that practice. On February 14, 2019, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Child Victims Act. This law created a one-year lookback period in which civil lawsuits could be filed based on previously time-barred claims of child sex abuse. In August 2019, numerous sex abuse lawsuits were filed against the Diocese of Albany. Among those accused in the lawsuits was the retired Bishop Hubbard, who took a leave of absence from active ministry in August 2019 shortly after the lawsuits were made public; Hubbard has denied the allegations against him. By March 2020, roughly 80 priests who served in the Diocese of Albany had been accused of committing acts of sex abuse. On May 8, 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill