Robert Brennan installed as 8th bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn
PROSPECT HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Bishop Robert Brennan was installed Tuesday as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan and Archbishop Christophe Pierre officiated the Mass at the co-cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights.
Bishop Brennan, a Bronx native who was raised on Long Island, succeeds Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio -- whose letter of resignation to Pope Francis was accepted in September.
"Born in the Bronx, city roots, but from South Shore of Long Island," he said. "I spent 50 of my 59 years right here on Long Island, Nassau, Suffolk and Queens even, breathing in that salt water air."
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Brennan spent the last few years as the Bishop of Columbus, Ohio, a community of about 275,000 Catholics
As bishop of the Brooklyn Diocese, he will oversee 1.3 million Catholics.
"The whole world is found here in Brooklyn and in Queens," he said. "Every language, every nationality. We are truly the diocese of immigrants."
He was welcomed by the faithful Tuesday, along with those of other faiths.
In September, the Vatican cleared DiMarzio of alleged sexual abuse, but he is still facing two civil lawsuits.
He maintains his innocence.
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Brennan on Tuesday addressed the Catholic Church's history of sex abuse.
"The church has taken great strides in these last 20 some odd years to provide a safe environment and to address those issues of the past," he said. "And like I said, here in Brooklyn, to heal."
He says he will meet with survivors and hopes to get to know the people of the nation's fifth largest diocese.
He has has pledged to strengthen the Catholic schools and academies in Brooklyn and Queens, work with and support the immigrant communities, and focus on evangelizing Catholics through various means of communication and social media.
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