The Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

of the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. It consists of 62 parishes and about 475,000 Catholics in the Southern Jersey counties of

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, Camden,

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The so ...

, Cumberland,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, and Salem. The

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of Camden presides from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden, although most major ceremonies are held at Saint Agnes Catholic Church in Blackwood. Some liturgies are held at St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral in Camden. Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan has been bishop of the diocese since 2013. The oldest parish, founded in 1848, is St. Mary's in Gloucester City.

History

Pope Pius XI erected the Diocese of Camden on December 9, 1937, taking its present territory from the Diocese of Trenton and designating the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Camden as its cathedral. The new diocese had 75 diocesan priests and 11 priests of religious communities to serve approximately 100,000 Catholics in 49 parishes and 31 missions, plus thirty elementary and five secondary schools. Following completion of its construction in 1952, St. Joseph Church in Camden was declared to be a pro-cathedral because the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was too small for cathedral functions. On April 2, 2008, Bishop

Joseph Anthony Galante Joseph Anthony Galante (July 2, 1938 – May 25, 2019) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey from 2004 to 2013. He previously held several positions as a bishop in Tex ...

announced the closing of roughly half of the parishes in the diocese. This followed a previous announcement of the closing of various Catholic schools. The Diocese of Camden was led by Bishop Galante until his resignation was accepted on Jan. 8, 2013.

Sexual abuse scandal

On February 13, 2019, all of the Catholic Dioceses based in New Jersey released the names of clergy who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing children since 1940. Of the 188 listed, 57 were based in the Diocese of Camden. Cardinal

Joseph Tobin Joseph Tobin (born 1950) is the Elizabeth Garrard Hall Professor of Education in the College of Education at the University of Georgia. Biography Tobin received his B.A. Degree from Earlham College and his PhD in Human Development at the Univer ...

, Archbishop of Newark and metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical province that encompasses Diocese of Camden, also acknowledged that the alleged acts of abuse committed by the clergy listed were reported to law enforcement agencies. On February 9, 2020, it was reported that all five Catholic dioceses across the state of New Jersey, which includes the Diocese of Camden, had paid over $11 million to compensate 105 claims of sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy. Of these 105 claims, 98 were compensated through settlements. The payments also do not involve 459 other sexual abuse cases in these dioceses which are still not resolved. On July 31, 2020, the Diocese of Camden suspended future payments to alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse, citing the financial impact stemming from the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. On August 20, 2020, four new lawsuits were filed against the Diocese of Camden involving three priests who were alleged to have committed sexual abuse while teaching at high schools run by the Diocese. One accused priest, Rev. Kenneth L. Johnston, had served as principal of Gloucester Catholic and St. James high schools. Two of the four new lawsuits were also filed against Rev. Eldridge Evans, a former teacher at St. James High School. Another lawsuit alleged sexual abuse by the Rev. Gerald P. Clements, who taught at Camden Catholic High School. All three priests are dead. On December 1, 2020, it was revealed that the Diocese of Camden was among more than 230 sex abuse lawsuits filed within a period of one year against New Jersey Catholic Dioceses. In April 2022, the diocese agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle the abuse claims, one of the largest such settlements involving the Catholic Church in the United States.

Bankruptcy

On October 1, 2020, the Diocese of Camden filed a

bankruptcy petition Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in the

United States Bankruptcy Court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy c ...

for the District of New Jersey. The diocese cited civil liability arising from abuse settlements and difficulties arising from the

as the primary sources of financial distress.

Bishops

The following are lists of bishops and auxiliary bishops of the diocese and their years of service, followed by other priests of this diocese who became bishops: Camden Diocesan Center

Bishops of Camden

# Bartholomew J. Eustace (1938-1956) #

Justin J. McCarthy Justin Joseph McCarthy (November 26, 1900 – December 26, 1959) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. McCarthy served as bishop of the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey from 1957 until his death in 1959. He previously served a ...

(1957-1959) #

Celestine Damiano Celestine Joseph Damiano (November 1, 1911 – October 2, 1967) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as apostolic delegate to South Africa (1953–1960) and as bishop of the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey (1960–1967) ...

(1960-1967), Archbishop (personal title) #

George Henry Guilfoyle George Henry Guilfoyle (November 13, 1913 – June 11, 1991) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey from 1968 to 1989. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the A ...

(1968-1989) #

James T. McHugh James Thomas McHugh (January 3, 1932 – December 10, 2000) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as bishop of Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York during the year 2000. McHugh previously served as an auxiliary bishop ...

(1989-1998), appointed Coadjutor Bishop and later Bishop of Rockville Centre #

Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio (born June 16, 1944) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic ChurchEntry
at www ...

(1999-2003), appointed

Bishop of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. ...

(2004-2013) # Dennis Joseph Sullivan (2013–present)

Former auxiliary bishop

James Louis Schad James Louis Schad (July 20, 1917 – March 27, 2002) was a bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Camden from 1966 to 1993. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, James Schad ...

(1966-1993)

Other priests of the diocese who became bishops

Miguel Pedro Mundo Miguel Pedro Mundo (July 25, 1937 – May 18, 1999) was an American-born bishop of the Catholic Church in Brazil. In the Diocese of Jataí, he served as Auxiliary Bishop from 1978 to 1999, then Bishop of Jataí for the last three months of his li ...

(1962-1978), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Jataí and later Bishop of Jataí *

James F. Checchio James Francis Checchio (born April 21, 1966 in Camden, New Jersey) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic church. Checchio served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 2005 until 2016. On ...

(1992-2016), appointed Bishop of Metuchen

Schools

; High schools * Bishop Eustace Preparatory School, Pennsauken Township *

Camden Catholic High School Camden Catholic High School (CCHS) is a four-year comprehensive private coeducational Roman Catholic high school, located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area in Cherry Hill, Camden County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school operate ...

, Cherry Hill Township *

Gloucester Catholic High School Gloucester Catholic High School is a co-educational six-year Roman Catholic high school located in Gloucester City, in Camden County, New Jersey. The school is managed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden. The school serves students in se ...

, Gloucester City * Holy Spirit High School, Absecon *

Our Lady of Mercy Academy (New Jersey) Our Lady of Mercy Academy (OLMA) is a college preparatory, all-girls Catholic high school founded in 1962 by the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy in Franklin Township, New Jersey, United States. Despite its location in Franklin Township, the sch ...

, Newfield *

Paul VI High School Paul VI High School is a private Catholic high school located in Haddon Township, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As there is no post office in Haddon Township, the mailing address is Haddonfield. The school, founded in 1966, i ...

, Haddonfield * St. Augustine Preparatory School, Richland * Wildwood Catholic Academy, North Wildwood

School mergers and closures

Sacred Heart School was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

elementary school (grades K-8) located in

Mount Ephraim, New Jersey Mount Ephraim is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 4,676,BVM School in

Bellmawr, New Jersey Bellmawr is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 11,583,Saint Joseph High School in Hammonton,

Wildwood Catholic High School Wildwood Catholic Academy (WCA), formerly Wildwood Catholic High School, is a co-educational pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade Catholic school in North Wildwood, in Cape May County, New Jersey. The school operates under the auspices of the Ro ...

in Wildwood and three elementary schools. However, Wildwood, along with Cape Trinity Catholic School, were both saved after agreeing to merge.

Ecclesiastical province

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden Official SiteCatholic cemeteries, Diocese of CamdenCatholic Charities of CamdenCatholic Star Herald - Official Online Newspaper of the DioceseFaith in the Future - Schools News and Information Site for the Diocese

Gathering Gods Gifts - Parish Planning for the Diocese

Lay Ministry Formation Program - Diocese Education Program

New Jersey Provincial Directory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Camden 1937 establishments in New Jersey Camden, New Jersey Christian organizations established in 1937 Camden Camden Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020