Joseph Robert Cistone (May 18, 1949 – October 16, 2018) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

who served as the sixth bishop of the

Diocese of Saginaw The Diocese of Saginaw ( la, Dioecesis Saginavensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church covering eleven County (United States), counties in Michigan. It was founded on February 26, 1938; the first bish ...

in Michigan from 2009 to until his death in 2018.

Biography

Early life and education

Joseph Cistone was born on May 18, 1949, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, to Daniel A. and Josephine R. (née Altomare) Cistone, Sr. One of three children, he has two brothers, Daniel and Anthony. He attended Our Lady of Consolation School and graduated from

Father Judge High School , motto_translation = He will not fall away , address = 3301 Solly Avenue , location = , region = , city = Philadelphia , county = , state ...

, both in Philadelphia. After graduating from high school in 1967, Cistone entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, receiving a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

degree in 1971 and a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

degree in 1975.

Priesthood

Cistone was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood for the

Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...

by Cardinal

John Krol John Joseph Krol (October 26, 1910 – March 3, 1996) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1961 to 1988, having previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland (1953� ...

on May 17, 1975. After his ordination, Cistone was posted as

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

at Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in Philadelphia. He also became chaplain at St. Maria Goretti High School in Philadelphia in 1977. Cistone left these two posts in 1979 to became parochial vicar at St. Jerome Parish in Philadelphia. He was named in 1980 as an advocate on the metropolitan tribunal. From 1982 to 1987, Cistone served as parochial vicar at St. Jude Parish in

Chalfont, Pennsylvania Chalfont is a borough with home rule status in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 4,009 at the 2010 census. The borough is served by SEPTA Regional Rail's Lansdale/Doylestown Line at Chalfont station. Chalfont is named after Chalf ...

, as a board member for the archdiocesan Permanent

Diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

Program, and as Newman Chaplain at Delaware Valley College of Science in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He was also named defender of the bond on the metropolitan tribunal in 1983, then in 1987 became parochial vicar at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in

Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 7 ...

. Cistone was moved from St. Francis in 1989 to St. Bernard Parish in Philadelphia. In 1991, Cistone left his other positions to become dean of formation for the Theology Division of St. Charles Seminary. Cistone was named as an associate to Monsignor

Edward Cullen Edward Cullen (né Edward Anthony Masen, Jr.) is a character in the ''Twilight'' book series by Stephenie Meyer. He is featured in the novels ''Twilight'', ''New Moon'', ''Eclipse'' and ''Breaking Dawn'', and their corresponding film adaptat ...

, vicar for administration of the archdiocese in 1993. He later served as assistant vicar for administration from 1994 to 1998, and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

and vicar for administration from 1998 to 2009. Cistone was raised by the Vatican to the rank of

honorary prelate of his holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.

Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia

On June 28, 2004, Cistone was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Casae Medianae'' by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. Cistone received his

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

on July 28, 2004, from Cardinal

Justin Rigali Justin Francis Rigali (born April 19, 1935) is an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Philadelphia, having previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1994 to 2003, and was elevated to the ca ...

, with Bishops Robert Maginnis and Michael Burbidge serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

, in Philadelphia at the

Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, head church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is located at 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, on the east side of Logan Square in Philadelphia. It was built between ...

. Cistone selected as his episcopal motto: ''"Father of mercy and love"''. In addition to his duties as vicar general and vicar for administration, Cistone served as head of the Secretariat for Catholic Human Services and the Secretariat for Temporal Services. He also had pastoral oversight for parishes in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Delaware County, Pennsylvania Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the List of counties in Pennsylvan ...

Bishop of Saginaw

Cistone was appointed as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

on May 20, 2009. Succeeding Bishop

Robert J. Carlson Robert James Carlson (born June 30, 1944) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Church. He served as the ninth archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis, Archdiocese of St. Louis in Missouri from 2009 to ...

, Cistone was installed on July 28, 2009. Within the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

(USCCB) Cistone was a member of the Committee for Protection of Children and Young People, the Committee for Cultural Diversity in the Church, the Subcommittee for African-American Affairs, and the Committee on Budget and Finance. In 2011, Cistone appointed a 19-member commission to make recommendations about parish closings. In January 2013, Cistone announced that the number of parishes would be reduced from 105 to 56. "I saw a need to position ourselves in a way by which parish communities are re-invigorated, liturgically alive and actively engaged in outreach to those in need." Many parishioners were angered by the closures, with some participating in protests. Several retired priests also opposed the closures. According to one priest, the diocese lost 5,000 parishioners between 2013 and 2015. Joseph Cistone died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

at his home in Saginaw on October 16, 2018 at age 69.

Sexual abuse scandal

According to a 2005 grand jury investigation into clergy sexual abuse, while serving as assistant vicar for administration in 1996, Cistone was involved with silencing a nun who tried to alert parishioners at St. Gabriel parish about abuse by a priest. A week after being named to lead the Diocese of Saginaw, Cistone was asked by a mid-Michigan newspaper reporter about the grand jury investigation and his reported role in covering up instances of sexual abuse. Cistone expressed unhappiness with how little opportunity he had been given to respond to the report, saying, "Unfortunately, the grand jury procedure, as followed in Philadelphia, did not allow for any opportunity to address such questions to offer explanation or clarification."Lackey, Angela. "Bishop addresses abuse issue." Midland Daily News, May 29, 2009. Cistone also expressed surprise that he had not been questioned about the grand jury report during his introductory press conference and told the reporter, "Had it come up, I certainly would have addressed it." However, when given the opportunity to answer questions about his actions by the newspaper reporter, Cistone refused to answer specific questions on the matter. In August 2012, Cistone was named in a lawsuit surrounding clergy sex abuse allegations at his former assignment in Philadelphia. Press reports indicate that he admitted that in 1994 he watched as Church records with the names of abusers were shredded.

Deland Case

On March 1, 2018, Cistone suspended Reverend Robert Deland, a priest of St. Agnes Parish in

Freeland, Michigan Freeland is a census-designated place in Tittabawassee Township, Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Saginaw-Midland-Bay Metropolitan Area. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 5,147. The CDP covers an area ...

, from all of his priestly duties. Deland had been arrested by police on February 26, 2018 on charges of sexually assaulting a teenager. In March 2018, Saginaw police searched Cistone's residence for evidence in unspecified sexual abuse case. Prosecutors said they took this step due to a lack of cooperation from the diocese. Cistone said that he was unaware of the investigation. The police also searched the chancery office and the cathedral rectory. On April 19, 2018, Cistone appointed Michigan Judge Michael J. Talbot as an independent delegate to take charge of all sexual abuse cases in the diocese. In September 2018, Deland pleaded

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...

to reduced charges; he was sent to state prison, spending two years there.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cistone, Joseph R. 1949 births 2018 deaths Clergy from Philadelphia 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States St. Charles Borromeo Seminary alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Saginaw Deaths from cancer in Michigan Deaths from lung cancer