Roman Catholic Diocese of Rapid City

The Diocese of Rapid City (Latin: Dioecesis Rapidopolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in western South Dakota, United States. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The cathedra is found within the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the episcopal see of Rapid City. Peter Michael Muhich was installed as bishop of this see on July 9, 2020.

Diocese of Rapid City

Dioecesis Rapidopolitana
Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Location
CountryUnited States
TerritoryWest of the Missouri River in South Dakota
Ecclesiastical provinceSaint Paul and Minneapolis
Statistics
Area43,000 sq mi (110,000 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)		(as of 2010)
239,000
30,700 (12.8%)
Parishes88
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedAugust 6, 1902 (119 years ago)
CathedralCathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopPeter Michael Muhich
Map
Website
rapidcitydiocese.org

History

On August 6, 1902 Saint Pius X established the diocese as the Diocese of Lead.[1] Its territory was taken from the Diocese of Sioux Falls. The name of the diocese was changed by Pope Pius XI on August 1, 1930 when the see city was transferred to Rapid City.[2][3]

Reports of sex abuse

On March 15, 2019, the Diocese of Rapid City published a list of 21 Catholic clergy who were credibly accused of committing acts of sex abuse while serving in schools, churches, hospitals and on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations from 1951 to 2018.[4] The list was accompanied by a letter written by then-Rapid City Bishop Robert D. Gruss, which stated that "It is important to acknowledge the horrid truth of past abuse in the church so that we can repent of these actions and to recommit ourselves to ensuring that no one is hurt moving forward."[5]

On August 7, 2020, the Rapid City Diocese had received an allegation that recent vicar Michel Mulloy sexually abused a minor in the 1980s.[6] This led to Mulloy's resignation before he was consecrated from his recent appointment as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota.[7] Mulloy was reported to be no longer active in the Diocese of Rapid City.[7]

John Praveen, a priest and native of Hyderabad, India, had joined the Diocese of Rapid City for a 10-year assignment in December 2017.[8] The Diocese of Rapid City sponsored Praveen's visa. Upon arriving, Praveen first worked in Eagle Butte on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservation. He was transferred to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in June 2018.[8]

He worked at the cathedral until he was arrested and charged on October 2, 2018 on sex abuse charges.[8] Following the arrest of Praveen, Bishop Robert Gruss stripped Praveen of both his clerical attire and priestly duties; he ordered him to live a life of prayer and penance under the supervision of the Rapid City Bishop.[8] On November 12, 2020, Pope Francis laicized Praveen.[8]

On November 25, 2020 the Church reported that federal sex abuse and child pornography charges were pending against Fr. Marcin Garbacz.[9] He was already serving a 7.75 year prison sentence for stealing from the Diocese of Rapid City.[10]

Bishops

Ordinaries

The bishops of the diocese and their terms of service:

Bishops of Lead
  1. John Stariha (1902–1909)
  2. Joseph Francis Busch (1910–1915), appointed Bishop of Saint Cloud
  3. John Jeremiah Lawler (1915–1930 see below)
Bishops of Rapid City
  1. John Jeremiah Lawler (see above 1930–1948)
  2. William Tibertus McCarty, C.Ss.R. (1948–1969)
  3. Harold Joseph Dimmerling (1969–1987)
  4. Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. (1988–1997), appointed Archbishop of Denver and later Archbishop of Philadelphia
  5. Blase Joseph Cupich (1998–2010), appointed Bishop of Spokane and later Archbishop of Chicago (elevated to Cardinal in 2016)
  6. Robert Dwayne Gruss (2011–2019), appointed Bishop of Saginaw
  7. Peter Michael Muhich (2020–present)

Coadjutor bishop

Other priests of the diocese who became bishops

Schools

See also

References
  1. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Lead" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. Cheney, David M. (July 19, 2011). "Diocese of Rapid City". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  3. "Diocese of Rapid City". Giga Catholic. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  4. Zionts, Arielle (March 19, 2019). "Rapid City Diocese: 21 priests credibly accused of sexual abuse". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  5. https://www.rapidcitydiocese.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PUBLISHED-NAMES-2019-with-letter-for-website.pdf
  6. Brockhaus, Hannah (September 7, 2020). "Pope Francis accepts resignation of Duluth Bishop-elect Michel Mulloy after abuse allegation". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  7. Caudill, Jack (September 7, 2020). "Former Rapid City priest and bishop-elect of Duluth resigns amid sexual abuse allegation". KEVN. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  8. Zionts, Arielle (November 12, 2020). "Pope Francis defrocks former Rapid City priest convicted of child sexual abuse". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  9. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/south-dakota-priest-jailed-for-theft-blames-catholic-doctrine-also-facing-sex-abuse-charges-83127%7Ctitle=Priest jailed for theft blames Catholic doctrine, also facing sex abuse charges|first=JD|last=Flynn|publisher=Catholic News Agency|date=November 25, 2020|access-date=December 4, 2020}}
  10. Zionts, Arielle (November 25, 2020). "Former Rapid City priest sentenced to 7.75 years in prison for stealing from diocese". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2020.

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