Brooklyn bishop’s sexual abuse allegations have no ‘semblance of truth’, Vatican says

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The allegations of sexual abuse against a Brooklyn bishop have no semblance of truth, the Vatican said Wednesday.

About two years ago two men accused Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of abusing them when they were young and he was a priest in New Jersey.

The Archdiocese of New York said in a statement on Wednesday that “the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has informed Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, that it has found the allegations of child sexual abuse. twenty-one months ago against The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, “does not appear to be the truth.”

“In view of this conclusion, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will not allow any other canonical process to respond to the accusations,” the statement continued.

In a statement, DiMarzio maintained the allegations were false.

I repeat what I said from the beginning. There is no truth to these allegations, he said.

As promised, I fully cooperated with this investigation, as I know I did nothing wrong. I prayed for a conclusion of this investigation, and these final results confirm, as I have always said, that these allegations have absolutely no basis, he continued.

The men filed a civil lawsuit against DiMarzio, alleging he sexually assaulted them while serving in the Archdiocese of Newark.

One of DiMarzios’ accusers, Mark Matzek, said in 2019 he was abused as an altar boy at St. Nicholas Church.

The other, Samier Tadros, said DiMarzio abused him when he was 6 at Holy Rosary Church in Jersey City, NJ, The Associated Press reported.

Mitchell Garabedian, who represents the men, told The Hill in a statement that the Vatican’s investigation was subjective and biased because investigators were vetted and paid by the Catholic Church.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which made the decision, is tasked with maintaining the secrecy of clergy sexual abuse by hiding the truth. My clients will continue to assert their rights in civil courts and justice will prevail when the truth is revealed, Garabedian said.

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