James Douglas Conley (born March 19, 1955) is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who has been serving as bishop of the

Diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leices ...

in Nebraska since 2012. He served as an auxiliary bishop in the

Archdiocese of Denver The Archdiocese of Denver ( la, Archidiœcesis Denveriensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses northern Colorado. It is part of the XIII Conference Region and includes 113 parishes, 3 ...

in Colorado from 2008 to 2012.

Biography

Early life

Raised in a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

family, James Conley was born on March 19, 1955, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Carl and Betty Conley. He has one sister by adoption, Susan. Conley is of

Wea The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the W ...

Native American descent through his paternal grandmother's family. The family moved to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, in 1957 and to

Arvada, Colorado Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams C ...

, in 1959. Conley attended Hoskinson Cottage School in Arvada before moving to

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. A ...

, at age eight. Conley graduated from

Shawnee Mission West High School Shawnee Mission West High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Overland Park, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. Shawnee Mission West is one of several public high schools located within Overland Park a ...

in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, in 1973, and then entered the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

(KU) in Lawrence, Kansas. Due to his Native American heritage, the Federal 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 to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

during his junior year of college on December 6, 1975. Conley obtained a bachelor's degree in English Literature from KU in 1977, and then worked in construction in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, before traveling through Europe. He considered a monastic vocation while staying at the Abbey of Notre Dame de Fontgombault in Fontgombault, France. Conley returned to Kansas in 1978, and worked on a friend's farm near

Courtland, Kansas Courtland is a city in Republic County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 294. History The first settlement was made at Courtland in 1885. A post office was opened in Prospect (an extinct town) in ...

. In 1980, he decided to pursue a vocation to the priesthood and entered St. Pius X Seminary in

Erlanger, Kentucky Erlanger is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It had a 2010 United States Census, 2010 census population of 18,368. Erlanger is part of the Cincinnati metropolita ...

. Conley later studied at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he earned a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree in 1985.

Priesthood

Conley was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

a priest at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita by Bishop Eugene Gerber for the

Diocese of Wichita The Diocese of Wichita ( la, Dioecesis Wichitensis) is a Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Kansas. It covers Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Harpe ...

on May 18, 1985. After his 1984 ordination, the diocese assigned Conley as

associate pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and A ...

at St. Patrick Parish in Wichita In 1989, Conley went to Rome to attend the

Alphonsian Academy 150px, St. Alphonsus de Liguori, whose teachings inspired the establishment of the Academy. The Pontifical Alphonsian Academy (; ), also commonly known as the Alphonsianum, is a pontifical institution of higher education founded in 1949 by the Re ...

of the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Ponti ...

. He received a Licentiate in Moral Theology in 1991. After his return to Kansas in 1991, Conley was appointed as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

of the Newman Center at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

in Wichita, Kansas, and diocesan director of the Respect Life Office. His parents converted to Catholicism in 1991; Conley administered the sacraments of

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

and

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an wikt:affirmation, affirma ...

to them. In 1996, the Vatican appointed Conley to the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dica ...

in Rome. He was also named as chaplain at the University of Dallas' Rome campus. He left his chaplain position in 1997 to serve as adjunct instructor of theology at the Rome Campus of Christendom College's Rome campus. He was raised to the rank of

chaplain of his holiness A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and vestments. Returning to Wichita in 2006 after ten years in Rome, Conley was named

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Blessed Sacrament Church in Wichita.

Auxiliary Bishop of Denver

On April 10, 2008, Conley was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Denver and titular bishop of Cissa by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

. He was consecrated on May 30, 2008, by Archbishop

Charles Chaput Charles Joseph Chaput ( ; born September 26, 1944) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the ninth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, serving from 2011 until 2020. He previously served as archb ...

, with Bishop Michael Jackels and Archbishop Paul S. Coakley serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. His episcopal motto, ''"Cor Ad Cor Loquitur'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

: "Heart Speaks To Heart"), is taken from the motto of Cardinal John Newman. Speaking on the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...

for expanded health insurance coverage that was proposed by the Obama 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, including
immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...
...Second, reform should respect the dignity of every person, from conception to natural death... Third, real healthcare reform needs to include explicit, ironclad conscience 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."

In September 2011, when the Vatican appointed Chaput as archbishop of the

Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...

, Conley was named

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the Archdiocese of Denver. He fulfilled this responsibility until July 2012, when the Vatican named Bishop

Samuel Aquila Samuel Joseph Aquila (; born September 24, 1950) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver in Colorado. He previously served as the seventh bishop of the Dioce ...

as the new archbishop of Denver.

Bishop of Lincoln

On September 14, 2012,

appointed Conley as bishop of Lincoln, succeeding Bishop

Fabian Bruskewitz Fabian Wendelin Bruskewitz (born September 6, 1935) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln in Nebraska, from 1992 to 2012. He is known for often taking conservative stands on social i ...

. Conley was installed on November 20, 2012, at the

Cathedral of the Risen Christ The Cathedral of the Risen Christ is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. The cathedral parish traces its roots back to Holy Family Church, a parish founded in 1926 and organized in 1932. On June ...

in Lincoln. In 2003, the diocese had participated in the first audit of implementation of the

Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People There have been many lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, and scandals over sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in the United States of America. The issue of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests was first publicized in 1985 when a Louisia ...

However, Bruskewitz later declined to participate in later audits, claiming that he was awaiting refinements to the audit process. In 2015, Conley announced that the diocese would now fully participate in the charter audits. On December 13, 2019, Conley announced that he was taking a medical leave of absence to treat depression, anxiety, insomnia, and

tinnitus Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no corresponding external sound is present. Nearly everyone experiences a faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely quiet room; but it is of concern only if it is bothersome, interferes with normal hearin ...

. The Vatican appointed Archbishop

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chai ...

was appointed to serve as apostolic administrator of the diocese during Conley’s leave of absence. Conley returned to active service on November 13, 2020.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conley, James D. 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 1955 births Living people Clergy from Kansas City, Missouri Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver Roman Catholic bishops of Lincoln Converts to Roman Catholicism from Presbyterianism University of Dallas faculty Christendom College University of Kansas alumni Alphonsian Academy alumni Mount St. Mary's University alumni Religious leaders from Missouri Catholics from Missouri American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent Wea