MOST REVEREND NICHOLAS DI MARZIO, Ph.D., D.D.

Bishop of Camden

 

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio was installed as sixth Bishop of Camden July 22, 1999.  His appointment by Pope John Paul II was announced June 8, 1999 in Washington by Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

 

Ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark on May 30, 1970, Bishop DiMarzio was Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark from 1996-1999.   From 1991-1999, Bishop was also Vicar for Human Services for the Archdiocese of Newark.

 

Bishop has made Migration and Immigration issues a central area of concern.  He is now chairman of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., and from 1998-2001, he was Chairman of the U.S. Bishop's Conference Migration Committee.  He has written extensively on the subject and has provided testimony to the U.S. House of Representative subcommittees on immigration, refugees and international law.  In September 2000, Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop DiMarzio a member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and the Itinerant, which serves those who, through choice or necessity, have left their normal place of residence.  Among these are migrants, exiles, refugees, and international workers.

 

Bishop also has made ecumenism and interfaith relations an important part of his pastoral mission.  He presided at a special Catholic-Lutheran prayer service to celebrate the Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and later signed an Agreement of Understanding with leaders of the Jewish community of South Jersey (2001), only the second of its kind in the nation.

Last year Bishop announced a series of comprehensive measures to deal with the matter of sexual abuse of minors by clergy and employees of the diocese, including a special toll-free number headed by an independent attorney and former municipal court judge to ensure that cases are reported to civil authorities by an independent third party.   His measures were described as a “model policy on abuse” and the “most sweeping initiative yet taken by a diocese” (Newark Star Ledger, April 13, 2002).

 

Bishop DiMarzio has issued three Pastoral Letters to the people of the Diocese of Camden:  “Laity in the New Millennium” (2001), “The Church’s Social Mission” (2001) and “Reconciliation and the Jubilee (2000), all of which can be viewed at www.camdendiocese.org.

 

 Other Highlights:

 

·         Established “Office of Ethnic Ministries” and “Office of Black Catholic Ministry” in November 1999.

·         Created an Apostolate to the Haitian Community (1999)

·         Formally established Office of Hispanic Ministry (2000)

·         Established two missions to serve the Korean communities (Cherry Hill and Pleasantville).

·         Established new parishes in Egg Harbor Twp. (St. Katharine Drexel) and Vineland (Immaculate Heart of Mary).

·         Directed that an annual financial report be presented to the people of the diocese.

·         Established the Greater Camden Partnership, inviting community leaders from the profit and non-profit sectors to attract redevelopment to the City of Camden.

·         Established the South Jersey Scholarship Fund (2000) to assist low income children attend Catholic schools in the diocese.