By Bob Scott
Journal & Courier
May 12, 2010
http://www.jconline.com/article/20100512/NEWS/5120318/UPDATE-Successor-named-for-Bishop-Higi-in-Lafayette
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| The Rev. Timothy Doherty is introduced today as the new bishop of the Lafayette diocese. |
Bishop-elect Timothy L. Doherty was visibly choked up this afternoon at a news conference announcing his appointment to the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana.
"I'm humbled," he said at St. Mary Cathedral in Lafayette. "I'm a little verklempt because this is so new.
"I'm pledging myself to you and ask for your prayers and help."
Bishop William Higi introduced Doherty, who is from the Diocese of Rockford, Ill. Higi has been bishop for 26 years.
Doherty's ordination and installation as bishop is tentatively set for July 15 at St. Mary Cathedral.
About 100 people attended the news conference, including diocesan priests, parishioners and media members. A prayer service was held afterwards.
Some in attendance said they liked that Doherty seems to have a grounded, yet friendly nature.
Bernabe Davila, who attends St. Thomas Aquinas in West Lafayette and will graduate from Purdue this weekend, said he liked that Doherty described prayer as a refreshing activity.
"I thought it was very good, as a Catholic lay person, to hear him talk that way about prayer," Davila said.
St. Boniface Church parishioner Mary Schnerre took her four young children to see Doherty speak. She said that, so far, the new bishop seems like a good fit for the diocese.
"Everything sounded very positive," she said of his speech. "I'm excited to see what he does for the diocese."
Doherty is the pastor of two parishes in the Elgin (Ill.) Deanery - St. Catherine of Siena, in Dundee, Ill., and St. Mary, a mission church, in nearby Gilberts, Ill. He also is the Diocesan Ethicist for Health Care Issues in the Rockford diocese.
The Rev. Timothy Seigel, pastor of St. Catherine of Genoa in Genoa, Ill., said he was shocked and overjoyed today to hear that Doherty had been named bishop of the Lafayette diocese.
He called the incoming bishop a gifted priest and a brilliant scholar. As the Rockford diocese's medical ethicist, Doherty has helped countless priests and parishioners address tough right-to-life questions, Seigel said.
"Every time I have gone to Monsignor Doherty with these kinds of questions, he's given me not only the right answer but the best way to respond to the questions people are asking, which I think is really critical," Seigel said.
Doherty, whom Seigel described as soft-spoken and gentle, also is a talented preacher and writer, he said. As bishop, Doherty likely will work hard to find out how best to serve Lafayette parishioners, Seigel said.
"Your diocese is very blessed to have Monsignor Doherty as your bishop," he said. "I am just overjoyed for you."
According to the Rockford Diocese Observer newspaper, Doherty was given the honorary title of monsignor in 2008.
The Observer also reported that Doherty received his doctorate in Christian Ethics from the Theology Department of Loyola University Chicago in 1996, and earned earlier degrees from Alfonsian Academy, Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and St. Ambrose College.
The Rockford native was ordained on June 26, 1976, at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Crystal Lake, Ill.
Doherty has worked extensively in the Rockford diocese. He assisted at St. Catherine Parish previously and at St. Patrick Parish, Rockford; St. Bridget Parish, Loves Park; St. Patrick Parish in McHenry, St. Mary Parish in Gilberts and at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rockford. He was pastor of St. Mary Parish in Byron from 1999 until his assignment in 2007 to Dundee, also serving St. James Parish in Lee for several months.
Doherty has taught at OSF St. Anthony College of Nursing in Rockford, was assistant principal and chairman of the religion department at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock, and an instructor and chair of the religion department at Boylan Central Catholic High School in Rockford.
He also has served on many boards and committees as part of his role as diocesan ethicist, including for the Catholic Conference of Illinois and for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, now called the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Doherty's birthday in Sept. 29, 1950.
Read more in Thursday's Journal & Courier.
Contributing: Amanda Hamon and Dorothy Schneider/J&C
Higi 'always welcoming and encouraging'
Bishop William Higi of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana will introduce his successor this afternoon at St. Mary Cathedral in Lafayette.
Higi's office said it would not release the name of the new bishop until then. The name of the new bishop, who is appointed by the pope in Vatican City, is expected to be released earlier today overseas.
When asked to comment Tuesday, Higi declined, opting to wait until the news conference to speak.
Higi, who turns 77 on Aug. 29, has been the longest-serving bishop in diocesan history, with 26 years in the position. Bishops are required by Canon Law to submit their resignations at age 75 but continue to serve until the pope chooses a replacement.
Some local parishioners said Higi's tenure was marked by strong leadership, and by the warmth and understanding he conveyed to his flock.
Jim Pechin, who with his wife has been involved in helping bring new adults into the faith, said he's seen Higi be friendly and inviting with incoming converts. Pechin and his wife attend St. Lawrence on Lafayette's north end.
"I think Bishop Higi has done a good job, and I don't think there are many things that need to be changed by the new bishop," Pechin said Tuesday. "It's kind of exciting, in a way, that we get our new bishop, but there's also a little apprehension."
Parishioner Denise Wagner, who with her family attends St. Mary Cathedral, said she's confident Higi's successor will provide strong leadership -- just as she said Higi has.
In the seven years she's attended St. Mary, Wagner said she's seen nothing but growth in the local church. She said she expects that to continue.
"I'm sure that the new bishop will put his own stamp on things, but I don't really have a concern about the way they will lead our parish," she said. The diocese includes 63 parishes in 24 counties with 105,000 Catholics. Since Higi became bishop in 1984, the diocese has added 21,000 Catholics.
The Rev. Eric Underwood of St. Mary Cathedral said he's known Higi for 10 years.
"Bishop Higi has always been welcoming and encouraging," Underwood said. "I don't know who the new bishop will be.
"I hope that he will be a true father to each of his priests; a spiritual father to guide and lead us to be the very best priests we can be. I hope that he furthers a sense of unity."
Higi was named bishop in April 1984 after then-Bishop George Fulcher died in January 1984 from a fiery car crash near Rockville. Higi was installed as bishop in June 1984.
In January, the pope appointed Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades from Harrisburg, Pa., to be the new bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. The selection process also took almost two years.
Bishops are always chosen and appointed by the pope. The Papal Nuncio in Washington, D.C., provides the names of three candidates to the Congregation for Bishops in the Vatican who advise the pope. The candidates are usually chosen in consultation with the outgoing bishop.
The Rev. Tim Alkire, pastor of St. Boniface Church in Lafayette, said he is looking forward to working with the new bishop on Catholic education. Alkire, who is chairman of the board of trustees for Catholic schools, said Higi's "door was always open."
"I hope the new bishop enjoys meeting the diverse population we have now, especially with all of the Hispanics and immigrants," he said. "I hope he will find out what Hoosier hospitality really means."
Alkire and the Rev. Michael McKinley were Higi's first ordinations in 1985.
In one of his most controversial moments as bishop, Higi announced in spring 1990 that Central Catholic High School would be closed at the end of the school year because of a lack of money, weak support and low enrollment.
"The bishop took a lot of heat for that, but history will prove that the intervention was an incredible wake-up call that saved Central Catholic," Alkire said. "The pastors of the school went to the bishop, but the bishop took all the heat. That's one of the tough things about being bishop."
Contributing: Amanda Hamon ahamon@jconline.com
Contact: bscott@jconline.com
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