Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange
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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church whose territory comprises the whole of Orange County, California in the United States. It may also be referred to as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in California to avoid confusion with the historical Diocese of Orange in France, which was dissolved in 1801.
Orange is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, from whose territory it was erected in 1976. It is led by the prelature of the Bishop of Orange, whose seat is at the Cathedral of the Holy Family in the City of Orange. Diocesan offices are situated at Marywood Pastoral Center in Orange.
In addition to its 56 parish churches, the diocese oversees 44 schools, 3 general hospitals, and one disabled and five ethnic ministry centers. It also sponsors a variety of programs and activities in conjunction with other local organizations.
The diocesan patroness is Our Lady of Guadalupe.
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[edit] History
The Catholic history of Orange County dates back to 1776 when Fray Junipero Serra founded the seventh of the California Missions at San Juan Capistrano. Growth and development continued in the county over the next 200 years.
Pope Paul VI established the diocese on March 24, 1976 from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. On June 16 of that year, Cardinal Timothy Manning installed Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop William Johnson as the first Bishop of Orange at Holy Family Cathedral. The diocese has grown rapidly as the local population has swelled with Catholic immigrants from Vietnam, the Philippines, and Latin America. When the Diocese was first established, there were 42 parishes and 179 Priests serving 330,000 Orange County Catholics. Today, 25 years later, there are 55 diocesan parishes and 289 Priests serving 1,044,191 Catholics in the county of 2,760,948 people.
On April 25, 2003 Pope John Paul II named the Rev. Dominic Luong an Auxiliary Bishop of Orange. He was the first Vietnamese-born priest to serve as a bishop in the United States.
Along with the tremendous growth during these years, the large numbers of non-English speaking Catholics who have emigrated from Latin America and Asia have presented the greatest challenge to the Diocese: ministering to their special needs and assimilating them into the Church of Orange.
[edit] Sex abuse settlement
On January 3, 2005 Bishop Tod Brown apologized to 87 alleged victims of sexual abuse and announced a settlement of $100 million following two years of mediation. The suits alleged sexual misconduct on the part of 30 priests, 2 nuns, 1 religious brother, and 10 lay personnel into the 1980s; 11 claims were against Eleuterio Ramos and 9 against Siegfried Widera, both deceased (Widera by suicide). About 25 cases involved abuse dating before the creation of the Diocese of Orange, one to 1936.[2a] It was the first settlement in California arising from the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal of the late 20th and early 21st centuries and the largest settlement (though not the largest judgment) to date arising out of the scandal.
About half of the sum was covered by liability insurance. The diocese had also sharply cut costs to prepare for the settlement in the preceding months. These steps enabled the Diocese of Orange agree to the settlement without closing schools or parishes, or more severe measures required of other U.S. dioceses caught up in the scandal.[2b]
[edit] Bishops
- William Robert Johnson (24 March 1976 - 28 July 1986)
- Norman Francis McFarland (29 December 1986 - 30 June 1998)
- Tod David Brown (30 June 1998 - )
[edit] See also
[edit] Secondary schools
- Cornelia Connelly High School
- JSerra High School (not under jurisdiction of the Diocese, simply within its boudaries)
- Rosary High School
- Saint Michael's College Preparatory High School
- Santa Margarita Catholic High School
- Mater Dei High School
- Servite High School
[edit] References
- ↑ Associated Press, "California Diocese Settles Abuse Cases," December 3, 2004, retrieved from CBSNews.com January 19, 2006
- a b "Orange Diocese to release files in $100 million settlement," The Tidings, January 7, 2005
[edit] External links
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, official site
- Orange Catholic Foundation, endowment fund
