NEW CRISTO REY HIGH SCHOOL TO OPEN DOORS IN BROOKLYN

The new Lourdes Academy High School in Bushwick, a part of the Cristo Rey national network of innovative secondary schools, will open the doors to its first freshman class Sept. 2 when approximately 50 youngsters embark on a program that will combine academic challenges and business experience within a Catholic environment.

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PROCESS TO REPORT FISCAL MISCONDUCT

The Diocese of Brooklyn has put into place a procedure that allows individuals who want to report financial, auditing or accounting misconduct by the Diocese, or by a parish, school or affiliated agency, to do so anonymously.

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BISHOP ORDAINS TWO FOR PRIESTHOOD

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio ordained two young men to the priesthood for the Diocese of Brooklyn at a Mass in St. James Cathedral Basilica in Brooklyn on Saturday, June 7.

The Bishop administered the Sacrament of Holy Orders to Father James Rodriguez, 26, born in Jackson Heights, and Father Patrick H. Longalong, 27, a native of the Philippines. They recently completed theological studies in preparation for ordination at the Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I.

Father Rodriguez has been assigned to serve as a parochial vicar at Most Precious Blood parish in Astoria and Father Longalong will serve as a parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Snows parish, Floral Park.

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BISHOP NAMES PASTOR TO CANON LAW POST

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has appointed Father Anthony M. Hernandez to the new position of Vicar for Canonical Affairs in the Diocese of Brooklyn. The appointment became effective June 1 and will have a term of three years.

As vicar, he will function as the chief canonical advisor to the Bishop. He earned a licentiate degree in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 2002.

Father Hernandez has served at the diocesan Tribunal as the Associate Judicial Vicar and Associate Promoter of Justice. He is a member of the Canon Law Society of America.

In addition to his new responsibilities, he will continue as pastor of Transfiguration Church in Williamsburg.

NAMED TO DIRECT MIGRATION OFFICE

Edward Dominguez, an experienced manager of non-profit agencies serving the poor, has been named to succeed Msgr. Ronald T. Marino as director of the Catholic Migration Office of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

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PILGRIMAGE TO BLESSING OF NEW ITALIAN CHAPEL

Plans are underway by the Italian Apostolate of the Diocese of Brooklyn for a pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington for the dedication and blessing of an Italian chapel in honor of Our Lady of Pompei.

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GREENPOINT SCHOOL PREPARES TO CLOSE

St. Cecilia’s School in Greenpoint will graduate its last class this month and will not reopen in the fall, citing serious financial deficits and declining enrollment numbers, the parish has announced.

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NAMED TO DIRECT HUMAN RESOURCES

Brendan G. McLoughlin, an experienced employee benefits administrator, has been named director of the Human Resources Office of the Diocese of Brooklyn. The office administers the pension and medical plans of the Diocese and serves as a consultant to pastors and parishes on personnel matters.

Mr. McLoughlin brings to his position a background in employee benefits for Metropolitan Life, the Grumman Corp., GPU Energy Corp. and Price Waterhouse Coopers. He also served as an assistant controller at St. John’s University, from which he has a bachelor’s degree.

Before coming to the Brooklyn Diocese, he was Director of Finance and Plant Operations, including oversight of human resource functions, at Regis High School in Manhattan since l999. He is a graduate of Regis and Our Lady Help of Christians School, Brooklyn.

Mr. McLoughlin will direct a staff of 11.

TWO PARK SLOPE PARISHES MERGE                                                   

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn has issued a canonical decree on the merger of two Park Slope parishes that became effective March 1.

The decree states that Holy Family parish, 205 14th St., and St. Thomas Aquinas parish, 249 Ninth St., have been merged to become Holy Family-St. Thomas Aquinas parish. The parish office will be at 249 Ninth St.

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EAST NEW YORK, HOLLIS SCHOOLS SET TO CLOSE

Faced with declining enrollment and increased operating costs, St. Fortunata School in East New York and St. Gerard Majella School in Hollis will close in June.

Enrollment statistics indicate that in the current school year, St. Fortunata’s School has 142 students in kindergarten to eighth-grade. It represents a precipitous decline since fours years earlier when 314 students attended the school, which opened in l957.

lope parishes that became effective March 1.

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BISHOP OUTLINES NORMS FOR 'FAITHFUL CITIZENSHIP'

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn delivered an address at the Cathedral Club of Brooklyn’s annual dinner that drew on the guidance on political issues contained in the U.S. Bishops’ 2007 document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility.”

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LONG TIME MIGRATION DIRECTOR ASKS TO YIELD DAY-TO-DAY TASKS

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn has accepted Msgr. Ronald T. Marino’s request to relinquish his duties as director of the Catholic Migration Office, a post he has held for 17 years, effective June 30.

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TWO SCHOOLS SET TO CLOSE IN JUNE

Our Lady of the Cenacle School in Richmond Hill and St. Finbar’s School in Bath Beach will each graduate its last class in June and will not reopen in the fall after several years of declining enrollment and increasing dependency on diocesan and parish funding to remain operational.

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BISHOP ANNOUNCES PARISH MERGERS

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn has issued canonical decrees announcing the mergers of six parishes into three in Brooklyn and Queens. They became effective Jan. 1. In two instances, the reconfigured parishes will be known by a new name.

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AUDIT OF DIOCESE FINDS 'CHARTER' COMPLIANCE

An audit of the Diocese of Brooklyn's adherence to the U.S. Bishops' "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" has found it to be in compliance with the 17 articles of the document, which the Bishops issued in 2002 and revised two years ago.

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BISHOP GIVES NEW ROLE TO MSGR. HARDIMAN

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has announced the appointment of Msgr. Michael J. Hardiman as acting executive director of the Futures in Education Foundation Endowment Fund, effective Jan. 1.

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QUEENS PASTOR PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn has placed a Queens pastor on administrative leave from priestly ministry after receiving allegations of sexual abuse placed on the diocese's telephone reporting line.

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NAME FATHER MASSA VATICAN CONSULTOR

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Father James Massa, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, to be a consultor of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. The appointment was announced at the Vatican Nov. 20.

Father Massa is the executive director of the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the Subcommittee on Interreligious Dialogue of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington.

NAME BROOKLYN PRIEST U.S. BISHOPS' LITURGIST

Msgr. Anthony F. Sherman, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, has been appointed executive secretary of the Secretariat for Divine Worship of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington.  He began his three-year term on Nov. 15.

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DECADE LATER, STILL ALIVE IN HOPE

Ten years later, the Diocese of Brooklyn's historic Alive in Hope capital and endowment campaign continues to nourish the fiscal needs of programs and services that minister to the faithful of all ages.

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FORMER QUEENS PASTOR ON LEAVE FROM MINISTRY

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn has announced that an investigation by the DiocesanReview Board has found sufficient evidence of sexual abuse of minors by a former Queens pastor.

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TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR 6,200 STUDENTS

More than 6,200 students now attending parish elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens are receiving tuition assistance totaling $6,115,550 from scholarship programs administered by the Diocese of Brooklyn.

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BISHOP'S LETTER OFFERS VISION FOR NEW EVANGELIZATION

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has issued his third pastoral letter to the people of the Diocese of Brooklyn, entitled "'Do Not Be Afraid,' a Pastoral Vision for the New Evangelization.

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NEW TABLET READERS FROM ACA DONORS

A mailed copy of The Tablet is arriving at the homes of 20,000 parishioners for the first time this week, as a new circulation practice inspired by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio goes into effect tying the diocesan newpaper with the Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA).

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BISHOP ANNOUNCES PARISH MERGERS

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn has announced the merging of 13 parishes into six---fie in Brooklyn and one in Queens.  The changes became effective Sept. 1.

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CATHOLIC SCHOOL GRANTS SET FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES

New scholarship dollars are opening the doors to a parochial elementary school education for children now in public schools who come from low-income families, and their parents and guardians are being invited to apply for grants that will be available for the school year that begins in September.

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BISHOP PLACES RETIRED PASTOR ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn has placed a retired Queens pastor on administrative leave from exercising priestly ministry after accepting a finding from the Diocesan Review Board that sufficient evidence existed of sexual abuse of minors three decades ago.

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ACADEMY IN OZONE PARK SIXTH IN DIOCESE

When Divine Mercy Catholic Academy in Ozone Park greets its first classes of students in September, it will become the sixth multiparish elementary school in the Diocese of Brooklyn---and the first in Queens---to be designated as an academy.

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CRITICIZES STEREOTYPE OF PRIESTLY MORALE

A prominent priest-psychologist urged the more than 375 priests of the Diocese of Brooklyn who attended a spring convocation at the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston April 19 to “get the word out about priestly life and satisfaction.”

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NEW PROGRAM FOR MEN DISCERNING PRIESTHOOD

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has announced that the Diocese of Brooklyn will establish a new residential facility for men who wish to discern seriously whether God may be calling them to the priesthood.

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PASTORS INFORMED ON PLANS FOR POTENTIAL PARISH MERGERS

An explanation of the process underway on the reconfiguration of parishes in Brooklyn and Queens highlighted the agenda of a pilot program instituted by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio designed to keep pastors and administrators current on issues and programs affecting the Diocese of Brooklyn.

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BISHOP PLACES PRIEST ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has placed a Queens pastor on administrative leave from active priestly ministry after accepting the Diocesan Review Board’s finding that an allegation against the priest of inappropriate behavior with a young man more than two decades ago was credible.

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