Vincent Madeley Harris

Vincent Madeley Harris (October 14, 1913 – March 31, 1988) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Beaumont in Texas from 1966 to 1971 and as coadjutor bishop and bishop of the Diocese of Austin in Texas from 1971 to 1985.

Biography

Early life Vincent Harris was born on October 14, 1913, in Conroe, Texas, to George Malcolm and Margaret (née Madeley) Harris. After graduating from Sam Houston High School in Houston, Texas, in 1931, he attended St. Mary's Seminary in La Porte, Texas. In 1934, Harris was sent by Bishop Christopher Byrne to study at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Priesthood While in Rome, Harris was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Galveston by Bishop Ralph Hayes on March 19, 1938. He received a Bachelor of Canon Law degree magna cum laude from the Gregorian in 1939.

After returning to the United States, Harris enter the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1940. He received his episcopal consecration on September 28, 1966, from Bishop John Morkovsky, with Bishops Leo Byrne and James Hogan serving as co-consecrators, at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Houston.

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Austin On April 27, 1971, Paul VI named Harris as coadjutor bishop of Austin and titular bishop of Rotaria. In July 1973, the Sacred Congregation for Bishops and the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy in Rome ruled that the Diocese of Austin should control the Reicher trust fund. Citing Texas law, the laypeople running the trust refused to surrender control. Harris then filed suit against the trust. In the lawsuit, the diocese claimed that diocesan funds had gone into the trust fund. In response to the church position, Reicher made this statement:Never were any funds of any diocese used in creating this trust . . . Let me assure you that I have not alienated any diocesan property.”

Retirement and legacy After suffering a stroke in 1984, Harris tendered his resignation as bishop of Austin to Pope John Paul II. The pope accepted it on February 25, 1985.

War In 1981, Harris joined with Catholic bishops in Texas criticizing the development of a neutron bomb by the Reagan Administration. They termed it an unnecessary escalation of the nuclear arms race between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.