John Martin Dougherty (April 29, 1932 – April 16, 2022) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

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 ...

. Dougherty served as the auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Scranton The Diocese of Scranton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church. It is a suffragan see of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, established on March 3, 1868. The seat of the bishop is St. Peter's Cathedral i ...

in Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2009.

Early life

John Dougherty was born in

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming Vall ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, to Edward and Irene (née Kern) Dougherty. After graduating from St. Paul High School in 1949, he entered St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland. In 1951, Dougherty became a seminarian at

St. Mary's Seminary St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Catholic Church, Catholic seminary located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the ...

in Baltimore, earning a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in 1953. In 1956, he was awarded a

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

degree from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

, then in 1957 a

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theolo ...

from St. Mary's.

Priesthood

On June 15, 1957, Dougherty 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 ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Scranton by Bishop Jerome D. Hannan at St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton.After his ordination, Dougherty served as

assistant 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 An ...

at St. Ann Parish in

Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania Tobyhanna is an unincorporated community in Coolbaugh Township in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Despite its name, it is not located in Tobyhanna Township. History "Tobyhanna" is derived from an American Indian word meaning "a stream whose bank ...

. In 1962, Dougherty left St. Ann to become professor of

ascetical theology Ascetical theology is the organized study or presentation of spiritual teachings found in Christian Scripture and the Church Fathers that help the faithful to more perfectly follow Christ and attain to Christian perfection. Christian asceticis ...

at St. Pius X Seminary in

Dalton, Pennsylvania Dalton is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located approximately eight miles north of the city of Scranton in a suburban area known as “the Abingtons." Dalton is also approximately thre ...

. He also became in 1965 a director of the

Society for the Propagation of the Faith The Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Latin: ''Propagandum Fidei'') is an international association coordinating assistance for Catholic missionary priests, brothers, and nuns in mission areas. The society was founded in Lyon, France, in ...

in the regions. In 1968 Dougherty 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.Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

and named

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

for religious by Bishop

J. Carroll McCormick Joseph Carroll McCormick (December 15, 1907 – November 2, 1996) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in Pennsylvania (1960-1966) and bishop of the Diocese of Scrant ...

. Dougherty was appointed assistant chancellor of the diocese in 1972, also assuming the duties of

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of ...

director in 1976. He became chancellor of the diocese in 1977 and an

honorary prelate of his holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

and

moderator of the curia Moderator of the curia is a top administrative position held by a Catholic priest in a diocese under the supervision of the bishop. The moderator coordinates the exercise of the administrative duties and oversees the office holders, or curia, i ...

.Dougherty received his first

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 ...

ate in 1984 at St. Patrick's Parish in West Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton

On February 7, 1995,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Dougherty as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Scranton and titular bishop of Sufetula. He was consecrated on March 7, 1995 by Bishop James C. Timlin, with Bishops McCormick and

Francis X. DiLorenzo Francis Xavier DiLorenzo (April 15, 1942 – August 17, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia from 2004 until his death in 2017. Previously DiLorenzo was the fourt ...

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 St. Peter's Cathedral. As an auxiliary bishop, Dougherty served as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Villa Saint Joseph home for retired priests in

Dunmore, Pennsylvania Dunmore is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, adjoining Scranton. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and was settled in 1835 and incorporated in 1862. Extensive anthracite coal, brick, stone, and silk interests had l ...

(1995-2004) and as vicar for administration (2004-2009). In April 2009, Dougherty joined some other American bishops in criticizing the University of Notre Dame's invitation to

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

to deliver its commencement speech and receive an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad ho ...

, given what the bishops termed his "numerous, repeated and extensive anti-life positions".

Retirement

Upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops, Dougherty submitted his letter of resignation as bishop of Scranton to

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 ...

in April 2007. The Pope accepted his resignation two years later on August 31, 2009. Dougherty continued to serve as a member of the board of trustees of the

Catholic Distance University Catholic Distance University (CDU) is a private online Roman Catholic university based in Charles Town, West Virginia. It exclusively offers online undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs. CDU's programs aim to meet the goals ...

. Prior to his death, he lived at Christ the King Parish in

Archbald, Pennsylvania Archbald is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is named for James Archbald, the first mayor of Carbondale, Pennsylvania. Before being renamed in Archbald's honor, the name of the settlement w ...

. He celebrated mass and heard confessions regularly. On July 31, 2019, the Diocese of Scranton paid a settlement in a sexual abuse allegation dating to 1941. The victim alleged that she had been molested at age nine by Martin J Fleming, then a priest at Holy Name Parish in

Swoyersville, Pennsylvania Swoyersville is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,008 at the 2020 census. Swoyersville is located within the Wyoming Valley West School District. History The community was originally called ''Swoyervi ...

. The victim first made her allegation to an official of the

Diocese of Venice The Diocese of Venice in Florida ( la, Dioecesis Venetiae in Florida) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Florida. It was founded on June 16, 1984 with the purpose of serving the southwestern portion ...

in Florida. That official sent the information in April 2006 to the Diocese of Scranton. On June 30, 2006, the victim traveled to Pennsylvania and met with Dougherty to report the allegations against Fleming, now deceased. After listening to her story, Dougherty suggested she talk to a counselor or a good friend. Fleming was listed in the 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report of abusive priests.

Death

On April 16, 2022, he died in his family's home in

.The Most Reverend John M. Dougherty dies at 89
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References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dougherty, John 1932 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops St. Charles College alumni St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni University of Notre Dame alumni People from Scranton, Pennsylvania Catholics from Pennsylvania 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops