Joseph Thomas Dimino

Joseph Thomas Dimino (January 7, 1923 – November 25, 2014) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop for the Military Services from 1991 to 1997.

The Most Reverend Joseph Thomas Dimino
Archbishop for the Military Services
See	Military Services
Installed	May 14, 1991
Term ended	August 12, 1997
Predecessor	John Joseph Thomas Ryan
Successor	Edwin Frederick O'Brien
Other posts	Auxiliary Bishop for the Military Services (1983-1991)
Orders
Ordination	June 4, 1949
Consecration	May 10, 1983
Personal details
Born	January 7, 1923 New York, New York
Died	November 25, 2014 (aged 91)

Biography

Dimino was born in New York City, and attended Cathedral College, in Queens, New York, and St. Joseph's Seminary, in Yonkers, New York.[1] He was ordained to the priesthood on June 4, 1949.[2] He then did pastoral work in the Archdiocese of New York until 1953, and served as a Navy chaplain from 1953 to 1977,including chaplain of the Catholic Church on the navy base in Yokosuka, Japan 1959-61 receiving the National Defense Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, China Service Medal, and Legion of Merit.[1] In 1962 he earned a Master's degree in religious education from the Catholic University of America. Retiring from the Navy in 1977 with the rank of captain, he was chancellor of the Archdiocese for the Military Services from 1977 to 1983.[1]

On March 29, 1983 Dimino was appointed Auxiliary Bishop for the Military Services and Titular Bishop of Hyccarum by Pope John Paul II.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 10 from Cardinal Terence Cooke, with Archbishop Joseph Thomas Ryan and Bishop Louis Edward Gelineau serving as co-consecrators.[2] Following Archbishop Ryan's retirement on May 14, 1991, Dimino succeeded him as the second Archbishop for the Military Services.[2] In this position, he served as the spiritual leader for more than one million U.S. Catholics of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Department of Veterans Affairs and those in government service overseas, and their dependents.[1] In January 1993 he expressed his opposition to allowing homosexuals to serve in the military to President Bill Clinton, saying that admitting homosexuals would have "disastrous consequences for all concerned."[3] Dimino resigned as archbishop for health reasons on August 12, 1997.[2]

See also

• Catholic Church hierarchy
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• Insignia of Chaplain Schools in the US Military
• List of Catholic bishops of the United States
• Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
• Military chaplain
• Religious symbolism in the United States military
• United States military chaplains
• United States Navy Chaplain Corps

References

1. "Pope Accepts Resignation of Archbishop Dimino; Names Archbishop O'Brien to Succeed Him in Military Archdiocese". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 1997-08-12.
2. "Archbishop Joseph Thomas Dimino". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
3. Stammer, Larry B. (1993-02-13). "Mahony Breaks Ranks to Back Gays in Military". The Los Angeles Times.

External links

• Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, official website
• Archdiocese for the Military Services of the United States. GCatholic.org. Retrieved 2010-08-20.