Timeline of Bishop Vann's Tenure in Fort Worth

The Star-Telegram
September 22, 2012

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/09/22/4279682/timeline-of-bishop-vanns-tenure.html

Bishop Kevin Vann in Fort Worth

May 2005 -- Vann, formerly a monsignor in the Springfield, Ill., diocese, is appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to lead the 28-county Fort Worth Diocese, replacing Joseph Delaney, who had been bishop since September 1981.

July 12, 2005 -- Delaney, who had been ill for years, dies on the eve of Vann's ordination as successor.

July 13, 2005 -- Vann is installed as third bishop of the dioceses.

February 2006 -- The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests delivers a letter to Vann, urging him to call for the Rev. Joseph Tu Ngoc Nguyen's removal from a Houston parish. Nguyen had formerly worked at an Arlington church, where he was accused of sexual misconduct with six women and girls.

November 2006 -- The Fort Worth diocese reaches a settlement with 11 men who accused the Rev. James Reilly of abusing them when they were altar boys at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Arlington. Vann said in a statement that the church is committed to protecting children.

November 2006 -- Files detailing sexual abuse allegations by six priests in the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese are released to the public. The files revealed that former Bishop Delaney and other church leaders sometimes intentionally misled the public, their congregations and the priests' accusers.

December 2006 -- In a sharp rebuke of his predecessor, Vann called the handling of sexual-abuse accusations against priests a "huge moral failure" and said he would have done things differently .

December 2006 -- Vann removes a Wichita Falls priest from active ministry because of the priest's admission of sexual abuse of a minor in the early 1970s.

December 2007 -- Three men who accused the Rev. Thomas Teczar of molesting them reach an out-of-court settlement with the Fort Worth diocese. Vann apologizes to the men and says he is appalled and angered by the "sin and crime."

June 2008 -- The Fort Worth diocese agrees to pay a settlement in the "five-figure range" to a Tarrant County man who said he was abused by the Rev. James Reilly. The man, who did not sue, was abused between the ages of 11 and 14 in the late 1970s.

August 2009 -- Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Fort Worth diocese says the Catholic population has risen from 65,000 to 562,000.

November 2008 -- Catholic Charities breaks ground on a $15 million building that consolidates its social service programs. The Fort Worth diocese donated 4 acres for the project.

March 2009 -- The Fort Worth diocese agrees to pay $775,000 to five people who accused the late Arlington priest James Reilly of sexual abuse.

October 2009 -- Vann and the Catholic Bishops of Texas issue a statement supporting healthcare reform but urging lawmakers to add requirements to the measure, including further restricting funding for abortions.

September 2010 -- The Vatican announces that Vann has been named to a committee that will lay the groundwork for the incorporation of U.S. Anglican groups into the Roman Catholic Church.

January 2011 -- Vann makes his first formal visit to a local Jewish synagogue, speaking at Congregation Ahavath Sholom in Fort Worth.

November 2011 -- Fort Worth diocese announces that it plans to invest $50 million over the next decade to add parishes and schools.

December 2011 -- Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church in Arlington opens as one of the largest Vietnamese Catholic churches in the U.S. and also the largest of the 90 Catholic churches in the diocese's 28-county North Texas region.

January -- The Vatican names Vann to oversee Episcopal priests who want to become Roman Catholics on an individual basis.

May -- The Fort Worth diocese files a lawsuit in federal court, saying its religious liberties are under attack by provisions of the Affordable Healthcare Act that require it to cover contraceptives and other services contrary to church doctrine.

August -- The Fort Worth diocese shelves plans to move its administrative offices to downtown from the west side and pulls out of a proposed $35 million project designed to bring apartments, shopping and office space to Lancaster Avenue.