Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, the seventh Bishop of Brooklyn, has led the Diocese since 2003. He is a forceful voice on behalf of migrants and immigrants, whose causes he has worked for through most of his priestly ministry. Complete Bio
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
To announce Catechetical Sunday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states, “This year, the Church will celebrate Catechetical Sunday on Sept. 17, 2017. This year’s theme will be ‘Living as Missionary Disciples.’ Those whom the community has designated to serve as catechists will be called forth to be commissioned for their ministry.
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
Having just returned from our diocesan pilgrimage to Fatima and Lourdes, I would like to recall some insights from our journey. The occasion for the pilgrimage was the 100th anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady at Fatima, but we also traveled over Spain to the Pyrenees Mountains to visit Lourdes, the sight of our 2008 diocesan pilgrimage for the 150th anniversary of those apparitions of Our Lady.
Each year, the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, currently chaired by Bishop Frank Dewane, Bishop of Venice, Fla., issues a statement (see Page 8) on the occasion of Labor Day.
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
This is the full text of Bishop DiMarzio’s homily at the Mass for Solidarity and Peace celebrated Aug. 24 at St. James Cathedral-Basilica, Downtown Brooklyn.
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
The summer months of July and August are fast coming to a close and the new academic year is about to begin here in Brooklyn and Queens.
In my master’s degree and doctorate studies on social work, I concentrated on public policy. Back in the early 1980s when I began studying public policy, the various factors of influence were basically the same as they are today; however, the proportion has vastly changed. There are three branches of government on the federal level: legislative, executive and judicial. They all greatly influence public policy. Today, however, it seems that the Supreme Court has greater influence on deciding controverted issues. On the state and local levels, the same balance of powers is at work.
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
There is a wonderful story of a little girl who is lost in a shopping mall. She was crying and no one could comfort her. Finally, a policeman came upon her and asked, “Little girl, have you lost your mother?”
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
This week, on the Feast of St. John Vianney, Aug. 4, the Diocese initiated the Year of Vocations: Reawakening the Call. In my letter to the priests announcing this year, I began by saying, “Pray to the Lord of the Harvest so that He may send laborers into His harvest.”
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
Last weekend, the Diocese of Brooklyn, through St. John’s University, hosted the annual Steubenville New York Conference. For several years now, the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio has sponsored a youth conference that is attended by over 2,000 young people from all over the East Coast.
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
Recently, I returned from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,’ called the “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America.” This was an unprecedented gathering lead by U.S. bishops and key leaders from dioceses, apostolates and Catholic organizations from across the United States. In fact, the meeting was the first time that the USCCB ever called together such a gathering. Over 80 percent of the dioceses attended, with close to 200 bishops also in attendance. Almost 20 members from our Diocese were present, including Auxiliary Bishops Cisneros, Tiedemann, Sansaricq and Massa.
