James Douglas Conley | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Lincoln | |
| See | Lincoln |
| Appointed | September 14, 2012 |
| Installed | November 20, 2012 |
| Predecessor | Fabian Bruskewitz |
| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 18, 1985 by Eugene John Gerber |
| Consecration | May 30, 2008 by Charles J. Chaput,Michael Owen Jackels,Paul Stagg Coakley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1955-03-19)March 19, 1955 (age 70) |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Alma mater | University of Kansas Mount St. Mary's Seminary Alphonsian Academy |
| Motto | Cor ad cor loquitur (Heart speaks to heart) |
| Styles of James Douglas Conley | |
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| Reference style | His Excellency |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
Ordination history of James D. Conley | |||||||||||||||||||
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James Douglas Conley (born March 19, 1955) has served as bishop of theDiocese of Lincoln in Nebraska since 2012. He served as an auxiliary bishop in theArchdiocese of Denver in Colorado from 2008 to 2012.
Raised in aPresbyterian family, James Conley was born on March 19, 1955, inKansas City, Missouri, to Carl and Betty Conley. He has one sister by adoption, Susan. Conley is partly ofWea Native American descent through his paternal grandmother's family. The family moved toDenver, Colorado, in 1957 and toArvada, Colorado, in 1959.[1][2][3]
Conley attended Hoskinson Cottage School in Arvada before moving toOverland Park, Kansas, at age eight. Conley graduated fromShawnee Mission West High School in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, in 1973, and then entered theUniversity of Kansas (KU) in Lawrence, Kansas. Due to his Native American heritage, theFederal Bureau of Indian Affairs paid for a portion of his college education. Conley studied in KU's Integrated Humanities Program, whose courses on Greek and Roman classics led him to convert toCatholicism during his junior year of college on December 6, 1975.[1][3]
Conley obtained a bachelor's degree in English Literature from KU in 1977, and then worked in construction inKansas City, Kansas, before travelling through Europe. He considered a monastic vocation while staying at theAbbey of Notre Dame de Fontgombault in Fontgombault, France.[1]
Conley returned to Kansas in 1978, and worked on a friend's farm nearCourtland, Kansas. In 1980, he decided to pursue a vocation to thepriesthood and entered St. Pius X Seminary inErlanger, Kentucky. Conley later studied atMount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he earned aMaster of Divinity degree in 1985.[1]
Conley wasordained a priest at theCathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita by BishopEugene Gerber for theDiocese of Wichita on May 18, 1985.[4] After his 1984 ordination, the diocese assigned Conley asassociate pastor at St. Patrick Parish in Wichita.
In 1989, Conley went to Rome to attend theAlphonsian Academy of thePontifical Lateran University. He received a Licentiate in Moral Theology in 1991.[3] After his return to Kansas in 1991, Conley was appointed aschaplain of the Newman Center atWichita State University in Wichita, Kansas, and diocesan director of the Respect Life Office.[5] His parents converted to Catholicism in 1991; Conley administered the sacraments ofbaptism andconfirmation to them.[1]
In 1996, the Vatican appointed Conley to theCongregation for Bishops in Rome.[1] He was also named as chaplain at theUniversity of Dallas' Rome campus. He left his chaplain position in 1997 to serve asadjunct instructor of theology atChristendom College's Rome Campus[1] He was raised to the rank ofchaplain of his holiness by Pope John Paul II on February 9, 2001.[1]Returning to Wichita in 2006 after ten years in Rome, Conley was namedpastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Wichita.[3]
On April 10, 2008, Conley was appointed as anauxiliary bishop of Denver and titular bishop ofCissa byPope Benedict XVI.[4] He was consecrated on May 30, 2008, by ArchbishopCharles Chaput, with BishopMichael Jackels and ArchbishopPaul S. Coakley serving asco-consecrators, at theCathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.[4] His episcopal motto,"Cor Ad Cor Loquitur (Latin: "Heart Speaks To Heart"), is taken from the motto of CardinalJohn Newman.[1]
Speaking on theAffordable Care Act for expandedhealth insurance coverage that was proposed by theObama Administration in November 2009, Conley stated that Catholic bishops:
"have a few simple but important priorities. First, everyone should have access to basic health care, includingimmigrants...Second, reform should respect the dignity of every person, from conception to natural death... Third, real healthcare reform needs to include explicit, ironcladconscience protections for medical professionals and institutions so that they cannot be forced to violate their moral convictions. Fourth—and this is so obvious it sometimes goes unstated—any reform must be economically realistic and financially sustainable."[6]
In September 2011, when the Vatican appointed Chaput as archbishop of theArchdiocese of Philadelphia, Conley was namedapostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Denver. He fulfilled this responsibility until July 2012, when the Vatican named BishopSamuel Aquila as the new archbishop of Denver.[4]
On September 14, 2012,Pope Benedict XVI appointed Conley as bishop of Lincoln, succeeding BishopFabian Bruskewitz. Conley was installed on November 20, 2012, at theCathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln.[7][8]
In 2003, the diocese had participated in the first audit of implementation of theCharter for the Protection of Children and Young People. However, Bruskewitz later declined to participate in later audits, claiming that he was awaiting refinements to the audit process.[9] In 2015, Conley announced that the diocese would fully participate in the charter audits.[10]
On December 13, 2019, Conley announced that he was taking a medical leave of absence to treatdepression, anxiety, insomnia, andtinnitus. The Vatican appointed ArchbishopGeorge J. Lucas was appointed to serve as apostolic administrator of the diocese during Conley's leave of absence.[11] Conley returned to active service on November 13, 2020.[12]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Bishop of Lincoln 2012–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by Gianfranco Gardin OFM Conv | Titular Bishop of Cissa 2008–2012 | Succeeded by Gonzalo Alonso Calzada Guerrero |
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