An out-of-town Catholic Church leader has ended a series of visits to gather information related to clergy sexual abuse cases in the Diocese of Buffalo. The Diocese of Brooklyn announced Thursday that Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn has completed his Apostolic Visitation.
According to the Diocese of Brooklyn, where DiMarzio serves, the Bishop made three trips to Buffalo and spent a total seven days in Western New York. He is reported to have interviewed an estimated 80 individuals, including clergy and lay persons.
Bishop DiMarzio was assigned to the Apostolic Visitation by Pope Francis. The Bishop will now prepare a report based on information gathered during local interviews and send it to the Holy See, though no timeline for submission of the report was disclosed.
Neither the Diocese of Brooklyn nor the Diocese of Buffalo are commenting.
Since the first of numerous accusations of past child sex abuse by clergy was aired in February 2018, dozens of living or deceased priests have been accused of such misconduct. Earlier this month, the Diocese of Buffalo released revised lists of accused priests, separating those affiliated with the Diocesre of Buffalo from accused priests who were serving in religious orders.
At least 150 lawsuits against the Diocese of Buffalo and accused priests are now pending. Numerous critics have called on Bishop Richard Malone to resign.
