Roman Catholic Diocese of Lubbock

The Diocese of Lubbock (Latin: Dioecesis Lubbokensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in West Texas in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio.

Diocese of Lubbock

Dioecesis Lubbokensis
Christ the King Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryTexas 25 counties south of the Texas panhandle
Ecclesiastical provinceProvince of San Antonio
Statistics
Population
- Catholics
136,894 (2010)
Parishes63
Schools2
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedJune 17, 1983
CathedralCathedral of Christ the King
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopRobert Milner Coerver
Bishop of Lubbock
Metropolitan ArchbishopGustavo Garcia-Siller
Archbishop of San Antonio
Vicar GeneralEugene Driscoll
Bishops emeritusPlácido Rodriguez
Map
Website
catholiclubbock.org

The Diocese of Lubbock was founded on June 25, 1983. Its mother church is Christ the King Cathedral in Lubbock. As of 2023, the current bishop of Lubbock is Robert Coerver

Descript

The Diocese of Lubbock encompasses 25 counties

Bailey, Borden, Cochran, Cottle, Crosby, Dawson, Dickins, Fisher, Floyd, Gaines, Garza, Hale, Haskell, Hockley, Jones, Kent, King, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Motley, Scurry, Stonewall, Terry, and Yoakum

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the diocese contained 136,894 Catholics and 63 parishes.

History

Pope John Paul II erected the Diocese of Lubbock in on June 25, 1983, taking its territory from the Diocese of Amarillo and San Angelo. The pope named Michael Sheehan of the Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth as the first bishop of the new diocese. In 1993, Sheehan was elevated to be archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

Auxiliary Bishop Plácido Rodriguez of the Archdiocese of Chicago was appointed as the second bishop of Lubbock by John Paul II in 1994.[1] Rodriguez retired in 2015.

As of 2023, the current bishop of Lubbock is Robert Milner Coerver from the Diocese of Dallas. He was appointed by Pope Francis in 2016.[2][3]

In 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an arrest warrant for a parishioner from the diocese who was accused of embezzling $250,000 from Christ the King Cathedral. The suspect, Nathan Allen Webb, had been in charge of bill paying and managing donations for the cathedral parish. Webb fled the country to Colombia after the warrant was issued.[4] After being extradited back to Texas, Webb pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in state prison.[5]

Sex abuse

In January 2004, Bishop Rodriguez released a list of five priests and one deacon with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors. Most of the cases dated back before the formation of the diocese. The men on the list were either deceased or already removed from ministry.[6]

On January 21, 2019, Bishop Coerver released a revised list of clerics with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors.[7] One man named on the list was Jesus Guerrero, a retired deacon. Guerrero had been accused in 1997 and 2007 of having an inappropriate relationship with an adult female parishioner alleged to have mental problems.

Guerrero sued the diocese in March 2019 for defamation, saying that he had never been accused of sexual abuse with a minor and should not have been added to the list. When the lower court refused to dismiss the case, the diocese appealed the decision to the Texas Supreme Court.[8][9] The court dismissed Guerrero's lawsuit in June 2021, citing the First Amendment rights under the US Constitution of churches to manage their own affairs.[10]

Bishops
  1. Michael Jarboe Sheehan (1983–1993), appointed Archbishop of Santa Fe
  2. Plácido Rodriguez, C.M.F. (1994–2016)
  3. Robert Milner Coerver (since 2016)

Education

Secondary school

Christ the King Cathedral School, Lubbock

Arms
Coat of arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Lubbock
Notes
Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected
Adopted
1983
Escutcheon
The arms of the Diocese of Lubbock are composed of a red shield on which is displayed a silver cross. On this cross is displayed a gold crown (diadem). The base part of the shield has a black background with superimposed a silver sprig of cotton.
Symbolism
The conjunction of the cross and a gold crown (diadem) are the representation traditionally used to signify Christ, the King. The cross and crown are issuant from a base which is used to represent the Caprock Escarpment in the diocese. This base is black to represent the petroleum under the ground.. On the black background is superimposed a silver sprig of cotton, the primary agricultural crop and economic mainstay of the region.[11]

See also

References
  1. Texas Catholic Conference: "Bishop Plácido Rodríguez, CMF" Archived 2016-10-02 at the Wayback Machine retrieved June 25, 2011
  2. "Pope Names Dallas Priest as Bishop of Lubbock, Texas; Accepts Resignation of Bishop Rodríguez". Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  3. "Diocese of Lubbock Announces Appointment of Third Bishop". Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  4. CNA. "Catholic cathedral finds $250k missing, FBI finds embezzlement suspect". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  5. "Lubbock man gets 4+ years for stealing $250k+ from Christ the King". KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com. 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  6. BLANEY, BETSY (2004-01-12). "Report: Six priest abuse allegations had 'reasonable cause'". Plainview Herald. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  7. Cantu, Michael A. "Lubbock diocese releases names of priests accused of sexual abuse". www.kcbd.com. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  8. "Former deacon's lawsuit against Texas diocese goes to state Supreme Court". National Catholic Reporter. 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  9. CNA. "Texas Supreme Court to hear case of former deacon suing diocese for abuse claim". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  10. CNA. "State supreme court rejects defamation lawsuit against diocese". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  11. The Diocesan Coat of Arms By Paul J. Sullivan, heraldist



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