Vatican acquits Bishop of Brooklyn accused of sexual assault

The Vatican has concluded that the half-century-old sexual assault allegations against the Bishop of Brooklyn in the United States, Nicholas DeMarzio, have “no semblance of truth”, but The defendants’ lawyer said they would proceed with their civil cases.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, reported Wednesday that the Vatican has closed its investigation into The separate allegations made by two men whom DiMarzio accused of abusing them half a century ago when he was a chaplain in New Jersey. DiMarzio denied the allegations, and the men filed civil lawsuits against him.

I repeat what I said from the beginning. There is no truth to these accusations. In the more than 50 years of my service as a priest, I have never abused anyoneDiMarzio said in a statement. He added that he had “fully cooperated” with the investigation.

“I remain focused on leading the Archdiocese of Brooklyn as we emerge from the darkness of the coronavirus pandemic. I ask for your prayers as I continue to fight the lawsuits arising from these two allegations, and now I look forward to having my name acquitted in the New Jersey courts.“.

The Vatican’s handling of the case has been closely monitored due to He was among the first to submit to new procedures put in place by Pope Francis two years ago to address allegations of sexual abuse against some of the church’s senior clergy.

Critics, including the defendants’ lawyers, have expressed concern about this The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, made up of other bishops, lacks impartiality.

“The investigations into my clients’ credibility were subjective and biased because the investigators were under the control of the Catholic Church and paid for.”Men’s attorney Mitchell Garabedian said.

“The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that made the decision, Continuing the secrecy of sexual assault on clerics by concealing the truthGarabedian said.

This was said by Samir Tadros, one of his accusers The assault began when he was 6 years old and was a parishioner at the Church of the Holy Rosary in Jersey City. Tadros, now 48 years old, It demanded $20 million in damages.

In response to the allegations, Dolan hired a law firm to conduct an investigation. This investigation was led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh. The results were then sent to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for review, which determined that the allegations were unfounded.

The Network of Survivors of Abuse by Priests, known as SNAP, said it was not surprised by the Vatican’s actions. She urged New York Attorney General Leticia James to conduct her own investigation.

Given the high rank of Bishop Demarzio in the Catholic Church, and especially given the fact that Vatican leaders chose him to investigate other bishops accused of wrongdoing, we believe that Real transparency and accountability must come from secular officials in New York and New York. Jersey, not RomaSNAP said in a statement.

Ann Barrett Doyle, Co-Director of BishopAccountability.org, a Boston-based group that has amassed a massive online archive of documents and reports alleging sexual crimes by Catholic clergy.He questioned the transparency of the Catholic Church in the matter and demanded that the church disclose all documents related to his investigation.

He warned that “even if his research is accurate”, “Only Cardinal Dolan had the power to filter and interpret evidence before sending it” to the Vatican.

Given the results of the Vatican Commission, Dolan said he would not authorize any additional legal process to address the allegations.

(with AP info)

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