A new Bishop for Brooklyn

 

POPE FRANCIS NAMES NEW BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 29, 2021

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POPE FRANCIS NAMES NEW BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN

The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has named the Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan as the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn. The appointment was announced this morning by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.

The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, who turned 75 years of age on June 16, 2019, had submitted his resignation on that date as required by Canon Law. His resignation was accepted today by Pope Francis.

“In the selection of Bishop Robert Brennan, the Holy Father has called upon a native New Yorker to return to lead the faithful of Brooklyn and Queens. On behalf of the Diocese of Brooklyn, I welcome Bishop Brennan who I have known for many years, with confidence in his ability to lead our Catholic community and build upon the pastoral achievements we have made. It has truly been an honor to serve as Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn for 18 years,” said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.

“This is a historic moment for the Diocese of Brooklyn which is a very active Diocese, and Bishop Brennan’s energy makes him a perfect choice.  I ask for God’s blessings on this transition so that the work of God, in service to His people, can effectively continue for the more than 1.2 million Catholics throughout Brooklyn and Queens,” continued Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.

“I came to know amazing people in the Diocese of Columbus and there is a tremendous sadness in leaving them behind. As I prepare for a return to New York, I am ready and eager to embrace the people of Brooklyn and Queens as their pastor. Knowing we are loved by Jesus, we will strive to show others his face, bearing the Joy of the Gospel and the Splendor of Truth. In the end, that’s what it is all about – in Columbus, Brooklyn, and around the world,” stated Bishop Robert Brennan, the current Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus.

Bishop Robert J. Brennan was born on June 7, 1962, to Robert and Patricia Brennan in the Bronx and was raised on Long Island, in Lindenhurst, New York. Bishop Brennan attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School in Lindenhurst and St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and computer science from St. John’s University in Queens.

Bishop Brennan completed his studies for the priesthood at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York, and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre on May 27, 1989, by then-Bishop John McGann. His first parish assignment was at the Church of St. Patrick in Smithtown.  In 1994, he was appointed Secretary to the Bishop and served in such capacity for three bishops: Bishops John McGann, James McHugh, and William Murphy. He has previously served as the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Rockville Centre and was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Rockville Centre on July 25, 2012.

Bishop Brennan was appointed the 12th Bishop of Columbus on January 31, 2019, and was installed on March 29, 2019.  Among the highlights of his time in Columbus has been the institution of the Diocesan-wide Real Presence, Real Future evangelization and planning initiative, a process involving clergy, lay ecclesial ministers, parish volunteers, and the faithful. The objective was to determine the best path forward to increase the presence of the Church in the Diocese of Columbus going forward.

Bishop Brennan has served with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a member of the Committee for Catholic Education, the Administrative Committee, and the Priorities and Plans Committee.

A Mass of Installation for Bishop-Designate Robert Brennan will be celebrated on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, at 2 p.m. at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Brooklyn.

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Photo of Bishop Robert J. Brennan, courtesy of the Diocese of Columbus, is attached.

Brooklyn Bishop cleared of sexual abuse allegations

 

Vatican exonerates Brooklyn Bishop accused of sexual abuse

NEW YORK (AP) — The Vatican has concluded that allegations of sexual abuse dating back a half century against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Brooklyn do not “have the semblance of truth,” but an attorney for the accusers said they would press forward with their civil cases.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, said Wednesday that the Vatican has closed its investigation into allegations made separately by two men, who accused the bishop, Nicholas DiMarzio, of abusing them a half century ago when he was a priest in New Jersey.

DiMarzio denied the accusations made by his accusers, both of whom have filed civil claims against him.

“I repeat what I have said from the beginning. There is no truth to these allegations. Throughout my more than 50-year ministry as a priest, I have never abused anyone,” DiMarzio said in a statement. He said he “fully cooperated” with the investigation.

“I remain focused on leading the Diocese of Brooklyn as we are emerging from the darkness of the Coronavirus pandemic,” he said. “I ask for your prayers as I continue to fight against the lawsuits stemming from these two allegations, and as I now look forward to clearing my name in the New Jersey state courts.”

The Vatican’s handling of the case was being closely watched because it was among the first to come under new procedures put in place two years ago by Pope Francis to address allegations of sexual abuse against some of the church’s highest ranking clergy.

Critics, including the lawyer for his accusers, expressed concern that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, comprised of other bishops, would lack impartiality.

“The investigations concerning the credibility of my clients were subjective and biased because the investigators were controlled by and paid for by the Catholic Church,” said the men’s attorney, Mitchell Garabedian.

“The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, which rendered the decision, is in the business of continuing the secrecy of clergy sexual abuse by hiding the truth,” Garabedian asserted.

One of his accusers, Samier Tadros, said the abuse began when he was 6 years old and a parishioner at Holy Rosary Church in Jersey City.

Tadros, who is now 48, has demanded $20 million in compensation.

The Associated Press does not typically identify victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Tadros has done.

In response to the allegations, Dolan hired a law firm to conduct an investigation. That inquiry was led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh.

The findings were then forwarded to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for its review, which determined that the accusations were baseless.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, more commonly known as SNAP, said it was not surprised by the Vatican’s actions and urged New York Attorney General Letitia James to conduct its own investigation.

“Given Bishop DiMarzio’s high rank in the Catholic Church — and especially given the fact that he had been tapped by Vatican leaders to investigate other prelates accused of wrongdoing — we believe true transparency and accountability will need to come from secular officials in New York and New Jersey, not Rome,” SNAP said in a statement.

The Attorney General’s Office did not have immediate comment.

Anne Barrett Doyle, the co-director of BishopAccountability.org, a Boston-based group that has amassed a vast online archive of documents and reports alleging sexual wrongdoing by Catholic clergy, questioned the Catholic Church’s transparency in the matter and called on the Church to release all documents related to its investigation.

“Even if their investigation was thorough,” she said, “only Cardinal Dolan had the power to filter and interpret the evidence before sending” it to the Vatican.

Given the findings of the Vatican body, Dolan said in his announcement, it “will not authorize any further canonical process to address the accusations.”

Finally, Catholic Bishops fed up with Democrat politician restrictions on the Holy Mass

Brooklyn Diocese files federal lawsuit over violation of religious freedom

Catholic News Service October 9, 2020

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, N.Y., are seen in this composite photo. (CNS composite; photos by Shannon Stapleton, Reuters, and Gregory A. Shemitz)

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CNS) — The Diocese of Brooklyn filed a lawsuit in federal court Oct. 8 against the state of New York, charging that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new orders reducing church capacity violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion.

“The executive orders this week have left us with no other option than to go to court,” Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio said in a statement.

“We vehemently disagree with the capacity limits being placed on us. They are disrespectful to Catholics who have only been abiding by the rules,” he added. “We do not agree with such limitations because they completely disregard the fact that our safety protocols have worked.”

On Oct. 6, Cuomo announced new restrictions on houses of worship in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases in densely populated ZIP codes he has identified as “hot zones.” He said the state has created three zones — red, orange and yellow — each with different restrictions, including on the size of congregations.

Some Catholic parishes in the Brooklyn Diocese are in the “red zone,” meaning their churches are being forced to reduce capacity to a maximum of 10 people inside at one time, and some are in the “orange zone,” where only 25 people at one time can attend Mass. A “yellow zone” designation means a 50% capacity.

In a news release announcing the lawsuit, the diocese said Cuomo’s new limits “arbitrarily” reduce capacity at Catholic churches throughout the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, “locations of which have played an inconsequential role in the hot spot zone COVID-19 spikes.”

Having to reset the attendance for churches that have the “capacity to accommodate many worshippers” in order to comply with the red zone and orange zone rules “when we have had no significant cases, impedes our right to worship and cannot stand,” the diocese said.

Prior to the churches reopening July 5 for weekend Masses — after being closed for Mass for 16 weeks — the diocese said it worked with a former commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management, Joseph Esposito, to develop a safe reopening plan for all churches to keep the faithful safe from the effects of the virus.

The church restrictions came a day after Cuomo had a news conference ordering closures of public schools and Catholic and other nonpublic schools in certain ZIP codes that reportedly have double, or in some areas quadruple, the New York metro area’s average COVID-19 infection rate of 1.72%.

In the Diocese of Brooklyn, for example, this means the closure of St. Athanasius Catholic Academy, Our Lady of Grace, St. Edmund Elementary School and Good Shepherd Catholic Academy.

The Brooklyn Diocese has retained litigation attorney Randy M. Mastro, a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, to represent it in this case.

“Public officials have a sacred duty to do right by those they serve, but this is simply wrong and wrong-headed,” Mastro said in a statement. “If this latest executive order stands, parishioners won’t be able to go to Mass this Sunday, even though the diocese has done everything right to ensure safe conditions in its churches.”

If this happens, the diocese’s religious community “will be denied its most fundamental right — the free exercise of religion –for no legitimate reason whatsoever,” he said. “That’s why we’ve gone to court — to prevent this injustice from occurring — so we’re asking the court to block this executive order from going into effect as applied to the diocese’s churches.”

The diocese said the state “has completely disregarded the fact that our safety protocols have worked and it is an insult to once again penalize all those who have made the safe return to church work.”

Massgoers wear masks during Mass and sit 6 feet apart, with a row roped off in between, and they stand 6 feet apart in the line to receive Communion line.

Pastors have installed hand sanitizers at the entrances and have ensured churches are cleaned and sanitized after Masses,” the diocese said. “A tremendous amount of time has been devoted, as well as resources and expense, to enforce these strict requirements to help ensure the safety of all.”

Joseph Zwilling, director of communications of the Archdiocese of New York, issued a statement supporting the lawsuit and echoed what the Brooklyn Diocese stated about Catholic parishes cooperating with health officials and strictly following all safety protocols for their churches, schools and other facilities. He, too, called Cuomo’s closures arbitrary and unfair.

“Catholic parishes throughout the Archdiocese of New York — indeed, throughout the entire state — have been able to safely and successfully reopen for Mass and the sacraments, thanks to careful planning, strict adherence to safety guidelines, and the full cooperation of our clergy, parishioners and parish staffs,” Zwilling said in a statement released late Oct. 8.

“So it is unfair to arbitrarily close, even temporarily, churches which have been operating without a spike in coronavirus cases simply because other institutions have not yet been able to do so,” he added. “The Diocese of Brooklyn’s lawsuit seeks to defend their First Amendment right to continue to safely worship and operate their parishes, and we support the Diocese of Brooklyn in their effort.”

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The text of the Brooklyn Diocese’s 22-page lawsuit can be found online at https://bit.ly/34F9W9p.

A different Bishop from NY(not Dolan) weighs in on why not to excommunicate this so called Catholic NY governor

Let Us Not Judge, Let Us Pray For Governor Cuomo

January 30, 2019
By Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio

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Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio speaks at Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston. (Photo Jorge Dominguez)

Recently, some in the Catholic community have called for the excommunication of Governor Andrew Cuomo and those Catholic members of the legislature who supported the change in the law to allow for the termination of a pregnancy up until the moment of birth.

Such calls are very understandable.  The gravity of evil merits such a call. Excommunication is meant to have a medicinal effect. It is intended to be so severe a penalty that the subject of the excommunication repents of evil, reforms his/her life and turns back to the Lord.  In this case, the governor is, in fact, taunting the Catholic community and would wear the excommunication as a badge of honor.

The culture we live in is poisonous to faith. New York State Senator Joseph Addabbo, who is a Democrat and Catholic, is now being targeted by pro-choice groups for his opposition to this legislation. Indeed, perhaps justified, the excommunication of the governor would be presented to the broader culture as the Church victimizing the governor. In the end, it would be a distraction from the horror of the crime and evil that cries out to Almighty God for vengeance.

We should not be naïve enough to think that the passage of the expansion of the abortion franchise was not strategically coordinated with the passage of the Child Victims Act. The news was meant to tie these two issues together. Both bills were passed without a public hearing, attesting to the state of our democracy in the State of New York.

The governor seems to have a remarkable capacity for dissembling words, which is disingenuous, changing his position on at least two occasions when he spoke to the Bishops of the State. On those occasions, Governor Cuomo indicated his opposition to the law based on its merits. As a lawyer, he waxed eloquently on the necessity of a statute of limitations in the law.

The truth is, the Bishops of New York State had expressed reservations in past versions of the Child Victims Act because it would have shielded public institutions from liability. Rather our position was that a full disclosure of all abuse – not just some abuse – was essential if we were to curb the scourge of child abuse. Once the legislature strengthened the bill this week to include all survivors, we dropped our opposition to the legislation.

I know that so many in the Catholic community are outraged by decisions that were made by some in Church leadership long ago.  We Catholics will pay the price for those decisions for generations to come. In fact, before there was any change in the law, we in the Catholic community sought to take dramatic steps to protect children in our care. Indeed, since the Dallas Charter was implemented in 2002 we have significantly reduced allegations of abuse. In our diocese in Brooklyn and Queens, in the last 17 years there were two allegations of misconduct. Moreover, at great expense, the Diocese of Brooklyn sought to discover those that were harmed in our institutions and invited them to come forward and to have the explicit acknowledgment of the wrongdoing as well as compensation for the offense that caused such terrible pain.

Governor Cuomo and the legislature have done the right thing passing the Child Victims Act, but not the Reproductive Health Act.

Therefore, I propose that we do not excommunicate the governor, but rather that we pray for him every single day; perhaps it would be good to include him by name in the Prayer of the Faithful.  Specifically, that his eyes be opened to the sacredness of all human life. While excommunication may not have a favorable effect, as a person of faith, I am convinced that by prayer we will move mountains and even turn the stone-cold heart to flesh.

Yet, it is not my place to judge the governor. We should pray for him.  Andrew Cuomo was educated in Diocese of Brooklyn schools, at St. Gerard Majella and Archbishop Molloy High School, both in Queens. He says he is Catholic, but there are incongruities in that statement. Still it is not for us to judge, but only God to do so, as He is a merciful God.