° January 1984: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson begins construction on a $1.3 million TV station. KDTU-TV Channel 18 goes on the air the following September.
° October 1988:
An announcement is made that KDTU-TV can no longer afford to operate and will go off the air. The diocese's debt is reported to be $23 million.
° 1990s-2002: Claims alleging sexual abuse by clergy begin to surface in Tucson and across the country. During this time, the local diocese pays out $155,000 in settlements of claims involving eight people who say they were victims of sexual misconduct by church personnel.
° January 2002:
An out-of-court settlement involving 11 lawsuits is reached with 10 men and their families. The men say they were molested during the 1960s, '70s and '80s by four local priests. The amount of the settlement is not disclosed, but it's estimated to be as high as $16 million.
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° February 2003:
Monsignor Robert C. Trupia, named in six of the 11 lawsuits settled in 2002, is discovered living in Maryland and still on the diocese payroll.
° September 2003:
Facing 14 new lawsuits since the 2002 settlement, the diocese sells its headquarters at 111 S. Church Ave. to the private Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson for $1.65 million and begins paying rent to the foundation. Diocese officials say the sale was made because the 2002 sexual abuse settlement left it unable to secure a $1.5 million debt.
° August 2003:
Families of five girls receive an out-of-court settlement of $1.8 million stemming from accusations that teacher Phillip Gregory Speers molested the girls during the 1999-2000 school year at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Yuma.
° June 2004:
With the diocese facing 19 pending civil actions over sexual abuse, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas concedes that the possibility the diocese will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is "absolutely realistic."
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