Since the September 21 story on California Catholic Daily about the new bishop of Orange, the Orange diocese has released the following statement.
Bishop Vann has distinguished himself during his seven year tenure as Bishop of Fort Worth and in prior assignments as priest, pastor and member of important Church committees and panels. He is recognized for innovative parish-based and diocesan initiatives and a leading member of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration. Working within the Texas Catholic Conference, Bishop Vann has encouraged comprehensive immigration reform in the State of Texas and nationally.
His outreach to all immigrant communities, including the growing Vietnamese and Asian populations now present in Texas, will be important assets when beginning his assignment in the multi-cultural Diocese of Orange. Bishop Vann is fluent in Spanish and Italian and is developing his Vietnamese language skills.
A native of Springfield, Ill., Vann is an accomplished pianist, an expert in canon law and gifted organizer. When installed as Bishop in 2005, the Diocese of Fort Worth served 400,000 area Catholics. Under his leadership the Diocese of Fort Worth has become a larger and more dynamic Catholic community serving over 700,000 Catholics, more than 50 percent being Hispanic.
Much of Ft. Worth’s diocesan growth is credited to Vann’s expansion of existing parish communities and an estimated $135 Million in widespread capital improvements. These improvements included the construction of one of the largest Catholic Churches in the United States serving a Vietnamese congregation – the Arlington (Texas) Vietnamese Martyrs Church. He restructured the local Catholic School system to a cost-based tuition system to ensure the financial viability of each school, while also creating a multi-million dollar scholarship fund to provide tuition assistance. His leadership further contributed to the expansion of Catholic Charities in the region and the opening of a new facility to accommodate that ministry’s growing needs. During Bishop Vann’s tenure the number of seminarians, ordained priests, women religious and lay Catholics serving the Diocese of Fort Worth has significantly increased. In 2012, the Diocese established a new parish to serve university students and a new elementary school.
Bishop Vann was instrumental in the development of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter – to allow for the ordination of former Anglican priests and to accept former Anglican communities into the Catholic Church. One former Anglican priest was recently ordained a Catholic Priest by Bishop Brown to serve in the Diocese of Orange.
Bishop Vann is the Ecclesiastical Delegate of the Holy See for the Pastoral Provision in the United States, which was established by Pope John Paul II in 1981 to accommodate full communion with the Catholic Church for Episcopal priests and laity.
To read the original press release, click here.
Even though this Bishop is an improvement and seems to teach according to the CCC –
How knowledgable and faithful to Church teaching are these new Catholics in his TX diocese?
I checked out his Fort Worth web site and no-where does he have a link to the “CATECHISM of the CATHOLIC CHURCH, Second Edition”,
nor does he encourage reading of the BIBLE.
The CCC is printed in all the languages required in his Diocese.
I think I agree with you up to a point. But tell me, how does a Bishop control the use of the CCC in his diocese? How should it be used in each parish in the diocese? Some people want every Catholic college and university to teach the CCC. Good objective, but in which class, in which subject, etc.? As I understand Catholic colleges and universities, they generally require one or two courses in comparitive religion, morals, or other similar subjects. I think it would be an unusual school that required everyone to take a course in CCC. Might not be a bad idea, but how do you make that work? I have checked the curriculums of several Catholic colleges or universities, and I can’t find a course that is based on the CCC, although it might be one of the reference readings required.
During the 2008 presidential election, Bishop Vann issued a statement —- “We cannot make more clear the seriousness of the overriding issue of abortion—while not the only issue—it is the defining moral issue, not only today, but of the last 35 years…As Catholics we are morally obligated to pray, to act, and to vote to abolish the evil of abortion in America.”[6]”
This will not bode well for all of the California Catholic-in-name -only Democrats who champion baby murder.
Good to hear; that alone would over ride many of his “faux pas” appellations.
Bishop Vann has been a great friend and served Jesus well in the Diocese of Ft. Worth, as well being a great Missioner out of the country. I know the people of Olancho, Honduras as other countries that is served by Mission directed by him to become one people and Church in Jesus Christ will miss him as we in FW will. God has His ways and means and obedience keeps us on an adventure with Jesus. JMJ
First task—withdraw all financial support from the CA Bishop’s lobby-the CCC. How dare they collaborate with the ACLU! Time for Abp Gomez to pull out, too.
Each CA Bishop is a VOTING member of the California Conference of Catholic Bishops (ccc), and that includes Abp Gomez.
They all have a responsibility as long as they are members.
In today’s America, a Catholic Democrat makes about as much sense as a Jewish Nazi!
John short and sweet and to the point!
And a Catholic Republican makes about as much sense as a ….? Oh well. Neither major candidate is a good choice. One has proven to be incompetant and unable to lead and the other lives in rarified air and has no concept of the average American. Why must we always end up voting for the least worse? I can’t vote for one because of his views that are contrary to Catholic teachings on abortion, etc. and the other because of his views that are contrary to Catholic social teachings. Who is the Libertarian candidate?
Bob One: I know liberals don’t like concepts like “litmus tests”, but for me, I cannot in good conscience vote for a “pro-choice’ president. Romney is more likely to appoint justices that put restrictions on abortion than the incumbent, whose record in this regard stinks to high heaven. That principle applies to the remainder of our
California congressional delegation, whose democratic members are 100 percent pro-abortion. Many among them are nominally Catholic. Their bishops appear to be OK with that.
Bob One,
I hope you are in Taxifornia where your vote won’t really count anyway!
So you can’t decide between a Monster and a successful Business Man, too bad!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Bob One,
Have you even bothered to look at he two Party’s Platforms?
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
If Obama wins, I will blame you and others who chose not to vote for Romney / Ryan . I will tell my children and my children’s children and their children that the reason this country was over-taken by Communism is because there were these foolish so-called Catholics who infiltrated institutions in the Church with the seamless garment heresy. But I probably will not get the chance to have even grandchildren because many Catholics will be exterminated.
I am so disgusted!
I know how you feel Susanne. I also have a prediction but I pray that my prediction will be wrong….I don’t know how I will handle another big disappointment such as Obama winning again….I only pray for God’s courage and strength, His dignity and humility….