http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/15037993.htm

Posted on Fri, Jul. 14, 2006

Dallas bishop resigning after tumultuous 16-year tenure
Associated Press
DALLAS - Bishop Charles Grahmann of the Catholic Dioceses of Dallas said he will offer his resignation Saturday, drawing to a close a 16-year tenure marked by major membership growth and scandal over sex abuse.

Grahmann will offer his resignation on his 75th birthday, the milestone at which all Catholic bishops are required to send resignation letters to the Vatican.

The South Texas native said he hopes his resignation is accepted quickly, although it's up to Pope Benedict XVI to determine how much longer he serves.

The diocese, which encompasses nine counties, has grown from about 230,000 Catholics in 1990 when Grahmann took over to almost 1 million now.

Most of the new arrivals are Hispanic, and Grahmann said he hopes his successor will be a Hispanic who can work between diverse classes and cultures.

"He will have to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor," Grahmann said.

Grahmann's attention to the region's burgeoning Hispanic population drew praise from some church members.

"The Dallas Diocese had really lacked any attention to the Mexicans and Latinos for years and years," said Albert Gonzalez, a funeral home owner. "He opened the door for us."

Grahmann led the creation of Santa Clara of Assisi Parish, a mostly Hispanic church, and the construction of a community center nearby.

"I was condemned for 'building a country club for illegal aliens,'" Grahmann said.

Grahmann also called on priests from Spanish-speaking countries to fill clergy positions vacated by Americans in parishes with large numbers of Hispanics.

"I wanted all of our parishes to be welcoming communities. I said all along that this is an immigrant church, like it was 200 years ago," he said.

But Grahmann's tenure has also been marked by criticism for his handling of priests' accused of child sexual abuse.

In the 1997 civil trial of Rudolph Kos, who molested altar boys at three Dallas parishes, a Dallas County jury decided that Grahmann and other church officials were "grossly negligent" and tried to cover up the abuse in its aftermath.

The jury awarded $120 million to 11 victims, although the diocese later settled for about one-fourth of that. Kos is now serving a life sentence.

Grahmann said the priest abuse was symptomatic of problems plaguing the wider culture. He said he did the best he could with the information he had.

"As soon as I had some proof that this happened, he was gone within 24 hours and never returned to ministry," he said.

The Kos lawsuit uncovered evidence that other abusers had been allowed to remain in ministry as well.

The Rev. Michael Duca, the temporary rector of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Grand Prairie, said the next bishop should work to unify the diocese.

"He has the advantage of riding above the past a little bit and moving forward," Duca said. "But you cannot ignore the past. It's not a past just attached to Bishop Grahmann. It's attached to our diocese."

On the Net: Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas, http://www.cathdal.org/