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

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. 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 in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan see of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, established on March 3, 1868. ...

in Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2009.

Early life

John Dougherty was born in

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, 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 in Baltimore, earning a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1953. In 1956, he was awarded a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

degree from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, then in 1957 a

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology (; abbreviated LTh or 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 Theology) which are conferred ...

from St. Mary's.

Priesthood

On June 15, 1957, Dougherty was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

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 to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicis ...

at St. Ann Parish in

Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania Tobyhanna is an unincorporated community that is located 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 ...

. 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 asceticism ...

at St. Pius X Seminary in

Dalton, Pennsylvania Dalton is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. 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 app ...

. 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 Chaplain of His Holiness is a title of distinction given by the Pope in recognition of a priest's service to the Church. They are addressed with the honorific of "Monsignor" and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and ve ...

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

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 p ...

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 movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the lega ...

director in 1976. He became chancellor of the diocese in 1977 and an honorary prelate of his holiness in 1978. In 1984, Dougherty was named

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

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, in ...

. Dougherty received his first

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

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 (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Dougherty as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

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 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 Churche ...

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

(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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

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 hon ...

, 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 BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

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 International University is a private online Roman Catholic university based in Charles Town, West Virginia. A number of Catholic dioceses partner with CatholicIU to educate those serving in parish ministry. History Catholic Internation ...

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

Archbald, Pennsylvania Archbald is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. 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 ...

. 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 in the 2020 census. Swoyersville is located within the Wyoming Valley West School District. History Originally a part of Kingston Township, whe ...

. The victim first made her allegation to an official of the Diocese of Venice 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 (Maryland) 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 Catholic International University people