Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre (Latin: Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa) comprises the territory of Nassau and Suffolk counties (regionally known as Long Island) in the U.S. state of New York state, except for Fishers Island, which is part of Suffolk County but is included in the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut. Founded in 1957, this diocese was created from territory that once belonged to the Diocese of Brooklyn. It is the sixth-largest Catholic diocese in the United States, currently serving approximately 1.5 million people in 134 parishes.[2] The diocese is named for the village where its cathedral, St. Agnes Cathedral, is located, Rockville Centre in Nassau County. The fifth and current bishop is John Barres.[3]

Diocese of Rockville Centre

Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa
St. Agnes Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryLong Island, New York
Ecclesiastical provinceNew York
Statistics
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)		(as of 2014)
2,851,977
1,531,445[1] (53.7%)
Parishes134
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedApril 6, 1957
CathedralSt. Agnes Cathedral
Patron saintSaint Agnes
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopJohn Barres
Auxiliary Bishops
Bishops emeritus
Map
Website
drvc.org

History

The Diocese of Rockville Centre was split off from the Diocese of Brooklyn April 6, 1957. St. Agnes Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Walter P. Kellenberg, former Bishop of Ogdensburg served as first bishop of the diocese from 1957 to 1976.[4] He founded the diocese's Catholic Charities office in 1957.[5] Kellenberg was followed by Bishop John McGann, who retired in 2000 and died in 2002. The diocese was led briefly by Bishop James T. McHugh, who died of cancer on December 10, 2000.

William Murphy served as the diocese's fourth bishop from 2001 to 2017. Murphy arrived in Long Island from his native Archdiocese of Boston, where he served as the archdiocese's vicar general. He was succeeded by John Barres on January 31, 2017.

Reports of sex abuse and bankruptcy

By August 2019, 68 clergy who served in the Diocese of Rockville Centre were "credibly accused" of committing acts of sex abuse.[6] Some were either convicted for their crimes or agreed to pay financial settlements.[6] Former priest Robert E. Guglielmone, who was later appointed Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston in South Carolina, was also revealed to have been named as a defendant in a sex abuse lawsuit in the state of New York and is accused of committing acts of sex abuse while serving in the Diocese of Rockville Centre.[7]

On May 8, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the 2019 New York Child Victims Act's statute of limitation deadline to file sex abuse lawsuits from August 14, 2020 to January 14, 2021.[8] On May 13, 2020, a Nassau County Supreme Court justice allowed pending lawsuits against the Diocese of Rockville Centre to proceed after rejecting claims that the New York Child Victims Act, which serves as the legal basis for the upcoming sex abuse lawsuits, violated due process.[9][10] In June 2020, the Diocese of Rockville Centre, which also suffered significant financial damage from the COVID-19 pandemic, filed court documents which stated that the Diocese will file for bankruptcy if there is no pause in nearly 100 pending sex abuse lawsuits.[11][12][13][14]

On October 1, 2020, the diocese of Rockville Center became the fourth diocese in New York state to file for bankruptcy as a result of the sexual abuse litigations.[15]

Bishops

Bishops of Rockville Centre
  1. Walter P. Kellenberg (1957-1976)
  2. John R. McGann (1976-2000)
  3. James T. McHugh (2000; coadjutor bishop 1998–2000)
  4. William F. Murphy (2001-2017)
  5. John O. Barres (2017–present)

Auxiliary Bishops

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

Coat of Arms
Coat of arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre
Notes
Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected
Adopted
1957
Escutcheon
The arms of the Diocese of Rockville Centre is divided per saltire and is bordered by a bordure composed of wavy lines. The colors of the field within the bordure are gold and blue. Three of the four partitions formed by the saltire are emblazoned with a scallop shell. The top partition is filled with a lamb's head. A black roundel in the center of the shield with the three stones or rocks is present.
Symbolism
The arms is based on the history of Long Island and the etymology of the name Rockville Centre. The colors of the field within the bordure, gold and blue, appears on the coat of arms of King William III of the House of Nassau and on the arms which the county of Suffolk in England has used at times, these arms being those of Ipswich. Although there are more than 12 names for Long Island, the name generally preferred by the Indians of the mainland was Seawanhacky or "Island of Shells." The scallop shell is also truly heraldic, and a symbol which is often used to signify the flowing of water in the Sacrament of Baptism.
The wavy silver bordure is the heraldic equivalent of water and surrounding, as it does, the other charges, signifies the insular nature of the diocese. The lamb's head is the symbol of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr, the titular of the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. St. Agnes has been represented with a lamb, the symbol of her virginal innocence, since the Middle Ages.
The black roundel in the center of the shield with the three stones or rocks affords canting arms for Rockville Centre. The black roundel is in the exact center of the shield. The three rocks or stones are derived from the coat of arms of Pope Pius XII, who established the new Diocese of Rockville Centre in April, 1957. The roundel is tinctured in black to represent the seventeenth century name of Brooklyn, from the diocese from which the See of Rockville Centre was separated. The black tincture represents the marshes, which recalled to the Dutch their homeland in Breuckelen in the Province of Utrecht. The Dutch who first settled Brooklyn called it "Breuck-Landt'" meaning "broken land,' or "marshland," inasmuch as a great deal of the land was broken up by patches of water.

Media
  • Catholic Faith Network, formerly known as "Telecare" was founded in 1969 by Monsignor Thomas Hartman of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York. CFn's programming includes live religious services, talk shows, devotional programs, educational programming, entertainment, and children's programs. It also presents coverage of special events at the Vatican and of papal journeys. It serves subscribers in three states.

In 2012 the diocesan weekly newspaper Long Island Catholic switched to a subscription-based monthly magazine.[16]

Educational institutions
See also: List of schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville_Centre
Seminary
High schools

As of 2019, there were nine Catholic high schools on Long Island.

Catholic Charities

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rockville Centre began operating in 1957. In 1974, they opened a residence for the developmentally disabled in Valley Stream. As of 2019, there were thirteen such residences. A shelter for single mothers opened in 1968 and in 2009 expanded to include transitional housing. Catholic Charities is the one largest provider of affordable senior housing on Long Island, operating over 1,300 units.[17]

Catholic Health

Catholic Health, formerly Catholic Health Services of Long Island, was founded in 1997 and operates under the sponsorship of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.[18] CHS operates six hospitals: Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, Saint Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, Saint Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, Saint Francis Hospital and Heart Center in Roslyn, and Saint Joseph Hospital in Bethpage.[19] The health system is the primary clinical affiliate and major teaching site of New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine.[20] With 17,000 employees, CHS is the third-largest employer on Long Island.[21] In 2021, CHSLI's name was changed to Catholic Health to reflect an expanded range of services and its connection to the medical school.[22]

Province of New York
See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States

References
  1. Who We Are. Diocese of Rockville Centre. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-08-05. Retrieved 2005-12-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "New Long Island bishop to be installed today". Newsday. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  4. "Church Hierarchy". Retrieved Jul 1, 2020.
  5. ""Celebrating 60 Years" Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rockville Centre" (PDF). Retrieved Jul 1, 2020.
  6. "Database of Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse". app.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved Jul 1, 2020.
  7. Smith, Glenn; Hobbs, Stephen; Moore, Thad. "Bishop of Charleston Diocese accused of sexual abuse in new lawsuit from NY". Post and Courier. Retrieved Jul 1, 2020.
  8. Pozarycki, Robert (May 8, 2020). "Time limit extended for sex abuse victims to file claims under New York Child Victims Act". amNewYork. Retrieved Jul 1, 2020.
  9. Tarinelli, Ryan. "Child Victims Act Does Not Violate Diocese's Due Process Right, Nassau Justice Rules". New York Law Journal. Retrieved Jul 1, 2020.
  10. Harris, Cayla (May 13, 2020). "Judge throws out constitutional challenge to Child Victims Act". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved Jul 1, 2020.
  11. "Diocese of Rockville Centre threatens bankruptcy if judge doesn't pause child sex abuse suits". longisland.news12.com.
  12. "Rockville Centre diocese faces bankruptcy amid abuse lawsuits". Catholic News Agency.
  13. "Diocese of Rockville Centre faces bankruptcy amid abuse lawsuits". Herald Community Newspapers.
  14. Boniello, Kathianne (13 June 2020). "Diocese of Rockville Centre threatens bankruptcy in face of child sex-abuse lawsuits".
  15. "Rockville Centre is fourth NY diocese to file for bankruptcy". Catholic World Report. October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  16. "Rockville Centre diocese converts newspaper to monthly magazine". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved Jul 1, 2020.
  17. "About Us". www.catholiccharities.cc. Retrieved Jul 1, 2020.
  18. https://www.chsli.org/about-chs Catholic Health Services of Long Island: About CHS
  19. https://www.chsli.org/hospitals Catholic Health Services of Long Island: Hospitals
  20. "Clinical Education Institutions | College of Osteopathic Medicine | New York Tech". www.nyit.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  21. "Long Island's largest employers". Newsday.
  22. "Catholic Health. Experts in medicine, leaders in care. | CHSLI". www.chsli.org. Retrieved 2021-02-01.

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