N.Y. Bishop Resigns, With Apologies

Brooklyn Bishop Thomas V. Daily, who has come under fire for his role in the Boston Archdiocese sex abuse scandal years ago, resigned Friday after 13 years on the job.

Pope John Paul II, who accepted Daily’s resignation, appointed Camden, N.J., Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio to take over the New York area diocese of 1.8 million Roman Catholics that also includes large parts of Queens.

Daily, 75, said he resigned strictly because of the Vatican rule that bishops must offer their retirement when they turn that age. The church decides whether to accept the resignations on an individual basis.

“You don’t tell the Holy Father what to do,” Daily said at a Brooklyn news conference. “You offer your resignation and he tells you what to do. It’s time for me.”

Daily added that he “had a good run” as Brooklyn’s bishop, and said he was proud of his record of service in a diocese that includes a large number of immigrants. Last month, however, Massachusetts Atty. Gen. Thomas Reilly issued a scathing report on the Boston church abuse scandal, citing Daily as one of several church leaders who were responsible for moving abusive priests from one parish job to another, after learning that the priests had been preying on children.

Reilly accused Daily -- who served as the Boston Archdiocese’s vicar of administration from 1976 to 1984 -- of failing to properly investigate cases of alleged child sexual abuse, and of giving abusive priests new positions instead of taking steps to dismiss them. He said the overall pattern of molestation by priests in Boston and the administrative efforts to protect them had “bordered on the unbelievable.”

Daily, who was one of eight church officials subpoenaed by a grand jury investigating the scandal, “apparently did not believe that a priest who engaged in such misconduct was apt to engage in such conduct in the future,” the report said. He “had a clear preference for keeping priests who sexually abused children in pastoral ministry,” and “failed to report allegations of clergy sexual abuse to law enforcement or seek assistance or advice from public authorities in his handling of such allegations.”

Reilly’s inquiry concluded that more than 1,000 children probably had been victimized in the archdiocese over six decades. But he declined to prosecute individual officials -- including former Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in December -- because there were no laws during the years the molestation took place that required church officials to be more vigilant about potential sex abuse.

Daily, who appeared at a news conference with DiMarzio, his successor, refused to comment in detail on the allegations about his behavior in Boston.

“I supposed the word ‘tarnished’ has been applied to my situation,” he said in the face of repeated questions from reporters. “But today, I don’t want to get into that.”

The white-haired official, insisting that it was DiMarzio’s day, added, “I just want to be a good priest and I want to get to heaven.” He said, “I’m sorry for the mistakes I’ve made and the sins I’ve committed.” But, he noted, “I say that every day.”

Frank DeRosa, a spokesman for the Brooklyn diocese, defended Daily’s service, saying: “Bishop Daily has made a tremendous impact on the life of the diocese for the last 13 years. He’s a deeply spiritual man. He’s been very, very available to the people of the diocese. He has served them very well, and he will be missed as bishop.”

DeRosa added that Daily had always followed church administrative procedures that he felt were appropriate, whether in Boston or in Brooklyn. Before his years in Brooklyn, Daily was the bishop of Palm Beach, Fla. He was appointed bishop of Brooklyn on Feb. 10, 1990.

DiMarzio, 59, said that removing all allegations of “impropriety” was crucial to restoring public trust in the church. Born in Newark, N.J., he was an auxiliary bishop there before assuming the Camden position.

“We have to show that we are protecting the youth who are entrusted in our care,” DiMarzio said. “I think it’s been somewhat overstated that people have lost faith in the church.”

Noting that several dioceses in the nation have negotiated financial settlements with victims, he said: “We’ve been able to settle cases, but settling cases is not the issue. We have to reach out to victims and make sure these things never happen again. Those are the major priorities.”

DiMarzio, who speaks Spanish and has a degree in social work from Fordham University, has been a strong advocate for immigrants. He will begin his duties in October, taking the helm of a diocese where more than half of the residents speak English as a second language.