Joseph Thomas Dimino (January 7, 1923 – November 25, 2014) 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 'pre ...

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 ...

. He served as archbishop for the Archdiocese of the Military Services USA from 1991 to 1997. Dimino previously served as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese from 1983 to 1991 and as a chaplain in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1953 until 1977.

Biography

Early life

Dimino was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on January 7, 1923. He attended Cathedral College, in Queens, New York, and St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York. He 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 ...

to the priesthood for the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

on June 4, 1949. After his ordination, Dimino served several parish assignments as parochial vicar: * St. Joseph’s in

Spring Valley, New York Spring Valley is a village in the towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Chestnut Ridge, east of Airmont and Monsey, south of Hillcrest, and west of Nanuet. The population was 33, ...

from 1949 to 1952 * St. Teresa’s in

Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of New York City, and is served by the ...

in 1952 * St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan from 1952 to 1953

US Navy

In 1953, Dimino entered the

United States Navy Chaplain Corps The United States Navy Chaplain Corps is the body of military chaplains of the United States Navy who are commissioned naval officers. Their principal purpose is "to promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and personal well-being of the mem ...

. At that time, American Catholic priests serving as military chaplains were in a

vicariate 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 ...

that was under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of New York. His service included the post of chaplain of the Catholic church at

United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka or is a United States Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Seventh Fleet and other operating ...

, an American naval base in Japan from 1959 to 1961. During his naval service, Dimino received the

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

, the Meritorious Service Medal, the

China Service Medal The China Service Medal was a service medal awarded to U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel. The medal was instituted by Navy Department General Order No. 176 on 1 July 1942. The medal recognized service in and around China before ...

, and the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight u ...

. Dimino attended the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., earning a Master of Religious Education degree in 1962. After retiring from the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

in 1977, he was appointed

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the vicariate for the military chaplains. While chancellor, he participated in the creation of the Archdiocese of the Military Services to replace the vicariate.

Archbishop of the Military Service USA

On March 29, 1983, Dimino was appointed auxiliary bishop for the Military Services 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 a ...

of '' Hyccarum'' 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 ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration 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 ca ...

on May 10. 1983, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan from Cardinal

Terence Cooke Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardin ...

, with Archbishop Joseph Thomas Ryan and Bishop Louis Edward Gelineau 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 ...

. Following Archbishop Ryan's retirement on May 14, 1991, Pope Paull II appointed Dimino as the second archbishop for the Military Services. As archbishop, he served over one million U.S. Catholics in all the armed forces, the

Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

and those in government service overseas, and their dependents. In January 1993, Dimino he expressed his opposition to allowing LBGT persons to serve in the military to

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, saying that admitting

gay men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, includin ...

would have "disastrous consequences for all concerned." While archbishop, Dimino added his support to a campaign started by Pope Paul II to eliminate the use of

land mines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

. He made this statement:

Military necessity and the need to protect one's troops...are not the only or even the overriding considerations in judging the morality of the continued use of antipersonnel landmines...A renunciation of U.S. use of landmines...could contribute to efforts to achieve an international ban on these weapons.

Retirement

Pope Paul II accepted Diminos resignation as archbishop of the military services for health reasons on August 12, 1997. He went to live in a community run by the

Little Sisters of the Poor The Little Sisters of the Poor (french: Petites Sœurs des pauvres) is a Catholic religious institute for women. It was founded by Jeanne Jugan. Having felt the need to care for the many impoverished elderly who lined the streets of French towns ...

order in Washington, D.C. Joseph Dimino died on November 25, 2014 in Washington.

References

External links

Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
official website

GCatholic.org. Retrieved 2010-08-20. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimino, Joseph Thomas 1923 births 2014 deaths Clergy from New York City 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Recipients of the Legion of Merit Catholic University of America alumni United States Navy chaplains

Chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intel ...

American expatriates in Japan