Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis (Latin: Dioecesis Memphitana in Tennesia) is a Roman Catholic diocese consisting of the counties of Tennessee to the west of the Tennessee River. The diocese is split into two deaneries. The Memphis Deanery encompasses twenty-eight (28) parishes in Shelby County. The Jackson Deanery encompasses fourteen (14) parishes and five (5) missions in the other 20 counties in the diocese.

Diocese of Memphis

Dioecesis Memphitana
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Location
Country United States
Territory West Tennessee
Ecclesiastical provinceArchdiocese of Louisville
Population
- Catholics (including non-members)
65,779 (4.5%)
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedJune 20, 1970
CathedralCathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopMost Rev. David Talley
Metropolitan ArchbishopJoseph Edward Kurtz
Archbishop of Louisville
Bishops emeritusJ. Terry Steib
Martin Holley
Map
Website
cdom.org

History

Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Memphis on 20 June 1970, taking its present territory from the Diocese of Nashville and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Louisville.[1]

Reports of sexual abuse

In 2007, Diocese of Memphis settled three sex abuse lawsuits.[2] In 2010, unsealed court documents revealed that at least 15 Catholic clergy who served in the Diocese of Memphis were accused of committing acts of sex abuse and that $2 million was secretly paid to one of these sex abuse victims.[3] On February 19, 2020, it was revealed former Memphis Bishop Carroll Dozier was accused committing acts of sex abuse in Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond before he was transferred to the Diocese of Memphis.[4] In September 2019, the Richmond sex abuse accusations resulted in Dozier's image being removed the city of Memphis' "Upstanders Mural", located on a wall across from the National Civil Rights Museum.[5] On February 28, 2020, The Diocese of Memphis released a list of 20 Catholic clergy who were credibly accused of sexually abusing children while serving in the Diocese.[6]

Tenure and removal of Bishop Martin Holley

Pope Francis named Martin Holley Bishop of Memphis, on August 23, 2016,[7][8] and he was installed as bishop on October 19, 2016.[9]

Holley transferred about 75% of the pastors in the diocese within a few months of becoming bishop, first requesting their resignations and giving them the title "parochial administrator" rather than "pastor" of the same parish so he could transfer them without their resignation.[10][11] He also appointed a Canadian priest, Msgr. Clement J. Machado, SOLT to three diocesan offices: vicar general, moderator of the curia and diocesan chancellor.[lower-alpha 1][12] In January 2018, citing lack of funds, the diocese announced the closure of the ten schools in its network of Memphis Jubilee Catholic Schools, founded in 1999 to serve children from poor families.[13] These actions brought considerable dissention among the clergy of the diocese. In June 2018, the Vatican sent Archbishops Wilton Gregory of Atlanta and Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis to conduct a visitation of the Memphis diocese, with specific direction to investigate complaints about Holley's leadership. They met with several dozen priests.[14][15] Machado resigned from the diocese shortly after Gregory and Hebda completed their visitation and Holley assigned a different priest to each of the three offices Machado had held.[16]

On October 24, 2018, Pope Francis removed Holley as bishop, citing concerns about his reassignment policy, and named Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville Apostolic Administrator.[17][18] The following day, Holley said to Catholic News Agency that he believed he was removed as "revenge" for advising Pope Benedict XVI against appointing Cardinal Donald Wuerl, under whom Holley served as Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, for the job of Vatican Secretary of State in 2012.[19]

On March 5, 2019, the Vatican announced the appointment of Bishop David Prescott Talley to Holley's former post. Bishop Talley was the Bishop of Alexandria, Louisiana.[20]

Bishops

Bishops of Memphis

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

Education

There is one Catholic University within the geographic boundaries of the Diocese:

There are a total of 28 primary and secondary schools with a total of more than 8000 students. The High Schools include:

* Operates independently and with the blessing of the Bishop.

Closed schools

See also

References
  1. "Diocese of Memphis". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/6676309/memphis-diocese-settles-3-lawsuits-alleging-sex-abuse-by-priest/
  3. http://archive.knoxnews.com/news/state/church-secrets-memphis-court-documents-unsealed-in-catholic-sex-abuse-lawsuit-ep-408728300-358812771.html/
  4. https://www.kait8.com/2019/02/19/former-memphis-bishop-accused-sexual-abuse/
  5. https://wreg.com/2019/09/08/memphis-first-catholic-bishop-replaced-on-downtown-mural-after-child-sexual-abuse-accusations/
  6. https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2020/02/28/memphis-catholic-diocese-releases-list-clergy-credibly-accused-sexual-misconduct/
  7. "Rinunce e Nomine, 23.08.2016" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. August 23, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  8. Brockhaus, Hannah (August 23, 2016). "Pope Francis taps DC auxiliary as the new Bishop of Memphis". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  9. Szczepanowski, Richard (October 23, 2016). "New Memphis bishop strikes a very Pope Francis tone". Crux. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  10. Waters, David (June 30, 2017). "Priest, parish leader express concerns to Vatican official about Memphis bishop's changes". Commercial Appeal. USA Today Network. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  11. Morris-Young, Dan (June 21, 2017). "Parish roundup: Memphis shakeup; muscle cars for vocations". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  12. Bailey, Clay (July 2, 2018). "Monsignor Machado resigns from post as second-in-command of Memphis Catholic diocese". Commercial Appeal. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  13. Pignolet, Jennifer (January 23, 2018). "Memphis Jubilee Catholic Schools to close after 2018-19 school year". Commercial Appeal. USA Today Network. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  14. Feuerhetd, Peter (July 9, 2018). "Diocese of Memphis subjected to three-day visitation". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  15. Fretland, Katie (June 22, 2018). "Vatican investigation into complaints about Memphis bishop draws mixed reaction". Commercial Appeal. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  16. "A top official resigns from Catholic diocese in Tennessee". Crux. Associated Press. July 3, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  17. "Resignations and Appointments, 24.10.2018" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  18. Brockhaus, Hannah (October 24, 2018). "Pope Francis removes Bishop Holley as head of Memphis diocese". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  19. Bishop Holley says 'revenge,' not ‘mismanagement’ led to his removal (Catholic News Agency)
  20. "After Turmoil in Tennessee, Pope Names New Bishop for Memphis".

Arms
Coat of arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis
Notes
This Coat of Arms was designed and adopted on the occasion of the installation of Bishop Martin David Holley.
Adopted
2016
Escutcheon
The arms of the diocese are composed of a red field with white and blue accents. The principal charge is a silver cross of a Coptic Christian style. Blue wavy bars are present on the upper division of the shield. The small mountains are present in the lower part.
Symbolism
The coat of arms of the Diocese of Memphis has a red field with six small hills in silver (white) at the bottom, from the arms of Pope Paul VI, who established the diocese. At the top of the shield, two wavy blue bands on a "chief" of silver represent the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers, the western and eastern (respectively) geographical borders of the diocese. A silver cross of the style used by Christians in the land of the Diocese's namesake city of Memphis in Egypt, links brothers and sisters in the faith of both regions to each other, and to the Church worldwide in the time of the new evangelization.

Notes
  1. Machado was asked to leave SOLT before he took these positions in the Memphis Diocese.

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