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The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican has informed Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, that it has found the allegations of sexual abuse of minors brought 21 months ago against The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, “not to have the semblance of truth.” Given this finding, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will not authorize any further canonical process to address the accusations.
Two civil lawsuits have been filed against Bishop DiMarzio alleging that, as a priest in the Archdiocese of Newark a half-century ago, he had committed acts of sexual abuse against minors, which Bishop DiMarzio has steadfastly denied.
Cardinal Dolan, as the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Province of New York, was authorized by the Holy See to conduct an investigation into the allegations in accord with Vos Estis Lux Mundi, the norms issued by Pope Francis in 2019 to address allegations of abuse brought against bishops. Cardinal Dolan hired the law firm of Herbert Smith Freehills which, in turn, retained the Freeh Group, headed by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, to conduct an independent, thorough investigation. The investigation results were submitted to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for its review and determination.
