The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., the controversial former pastor of Barack Obama's Chicago church, has canceled appearances in Texas this weekend, including a Dallas event that was to honor him.

Brite Divinity School officials did not say why Wright had decided not to come to Saturday's awards banquet, which had been moved to Dallas from the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth because of security concerns.

But the pastor of a Houston church where Wright was scheduled to speak Sunday said Wright cited three reasons in canceling that appearance: "the safety of the institution to which he has been invited; the safety of his family, which has been placed in harm’s way; and for his own safety."

Read the full story at star-telegram.com.