John Anthony Dooher

Styles of
John Dooher
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Monsignor
Posthumous style not applicable

John Anthony Dooher (born May 3, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston.

Contents

Early life

John Dooher was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to Irish immigrants John and Brigid (née Patsy) Dooher.[1] One of four children, he has two brothers, Francis and Terence, and one sister, Kathleen. He studied at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965 and a Master's in Divinity in 1969.[2]

Priesthood

Dooher was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1969,[3] and then served as associate pastor at St. Francis Xavier Church in Weymouth and chaplain at South Shore Hospital and South Weymouth Naval Air Station until 1974.[1] From 1974 to 1991, he served at St. Augustine Church in South Boston. During this period, he was also President of the Priests' Senate (1978-1982) and Director of the Office of Spiritual Development (1982-1991).[1]

From 1991 to 1996, Dooher served at St. Vincent de Paul Church and Ss. Peter and Paul Church, which were later merged together.[1] He was then named pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Dedham in 1996.[2] At St. Mary's, Dooher also founded the Life Teen program.[1]

Episcopal career

On October 12, 2006, Dooher was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Boston and Titular Bishop of Theveste by Pope Benedict XVI.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 12 from Seán Cardinal O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap., with Bishops Francis Irwin and Walter Edyvean serving as co-consecrators.[3] As an auxiliary, Dooher serves as regional bishop for the South Pastoral Region.[4]

His appointment was met with some criticism from advocates of sexual abuse victims' rights, who claimed that Dooher "abetted a harmful and immoral coverup for the Boston archdiocese" as a priest.[5] [6] He had been mentioned in a 2003 report by Attorney General Thomas Reilly as one of two priests who in the mid-1990s met with pastors in parishes affected by abuse cases, and in a 2002 deposition by Bishop John McCormack as having participated in conversations in the Archdiocese in 1994 about where to house abusive priests.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Tracy, Donis. "Bishop John A. Dooher: A life trusting in God’s providence". The Pilot. http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=3831. 
  2. ^ a b "Bishop Franklin's Resignation Accepted, Bishop Martin J. Amos Named Bishop of Davenport; Pope Names Two Auxiliary Bishops for Archdiocese of Boston". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2006-10-11. http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2006/06-196.shtml. 
  3. ^ a b c "Bishop John Anthony Dooher". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bdooher.html. 
  4. ^ "Most Reverend John Anthony Dooher". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. http://www.bostoncatholic.org/About-The-Archdiocese/Content.aspx?id=11978. 
  5. ^ a b Paulson, Michael (2006-10-13). "Priests' rise is called sign of change, hope". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/10/13/priests_rise_is_called_sign_of_change_hope. 
  6. ^ Yon-Gharbi, Sophie (2006-12-12). "Protesters Object to Reverend John Dooher's Elevation". Boston Indymedia. http://boston.indymedia.org/feature/display/191804/index.php.