History
The See of Fairbanks was established from the Prefecture Apostolic of Alaska on July 27, 1894 which was created from the Diocese of Vancouver Island. It was elevated to an apostolic vicariate on December 22, 1916. The Diocese of Juneau was carved out of the apostolic vicariate on June 23, 1951. On August 8, 1962, the apostolic vicariate was elevated to a diocese.
The first seven bishops of Fairbanks were missionaries of the Society of Jesus. On June 7, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed Donald Joseph Kettler as the first non-Jesuit bishop of Fairbanks.
In February 2008, the diocese announced plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, claiming inability to pay the 140 plaintiffs who filed claims against the diocese for alleged sexual abuse by priests or church workers dating from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, was named as a co-defendant in the case, and settled for $50 million. The Diocese, which reports an operating budget of approximately $6 million, claims one of the diocese’s insurance carriers failed to "participate meaningfully".
Read more about this topic: Roman Catholic Diocese Of Fairbanks
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“The whole history of civilisation is strewn with creeds and institutions which were invaluable at first, and deadly afterwards.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“As History stands, it is a sort of Chinese Play, without end and without lesson.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)