John Anthony Dooher

American prelate

His Excellency, The Most Reverend

John Anthony Dooher

Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Boston
Titular Bishop of Theveste
Archdiocese| Boston
Appointed| October 12, 2006
Installed| December 12, 2006
Retired| June 30, 2018
Other post(s)| Titular Bishop of Theveste
Orders
Ordination| May 21, 1969
by Richard Cushing
Consecration| December 12, 2006
by Seán Patrick O'Malley, Francis Xavier Irwin, and Walter James Edyvean
Personal details
Born|  (1943-05-03) May 3, 1943 (age 81)

Dorchester, Massachusetts

Motto| Come follow me
Styles of
John Anthony Dooher

Reference style|

* His Excellency
* The Most Reverend

Spoken style| Your Excellency
Religious style| Bishop

John Anthony Dooher (born May 3, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts from 2006 to 2018.

## Biography

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### Early life and education

[edit]

John Dooher was born on May 3, 1943, in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, to Irish immigrants Anthony (Tony) and Brigid (Patsy) Dooher.[1][2] One of four children, he has two brothers, Francis and Terence, and one sister, Kathleen.[2] Following the death of his aunt, many of his cousins moved in with his family.[2] The Dooher family included several priests.[1][2]

Dooher said that he was inspired to enter the priesthood as a young man by the Reverend Mortimer Gavin, who founded the Boston Labor Guild.[3] Dooher studied at St. John's Seminary in Boston, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965 and a Master of Divinity degree in 1969.[4][5][2]

### Ordination and ministry

[edit]

Dooher was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Boston on May 21, 1969, by Cardinal Richard Cushing.[6] After ordination, Dooher served as associate pastor at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Weymouth, Massachusetts, also working as chaplain at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth and the Naval Air Station South Weymouth.[2][1] In 1974, Dooher was posted to St. Augustine Parish in South Boston.[3] During this period, he also served as president of the Priests' Senate (1978–1982) and director of the Office of Spiritual Development (1982–1991).[1][2]

From 1991 to 1996, Dooher served in pastoral postings at St. Vincent de Paul Parish and Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Boston, which were later merged.[3][1] In 1996, Dooher was named pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts.[4] At St. Mary's, Dooher also founded the Life Teen program.[1] He said that Life Teen was

> "one of the most satisfying things I've ever been involved with in ministry. If there's any group that needs to feel as if they belong to a church, its teenagers, and Life Teen really helps with that."[3]

Dooher was part of the Singing Priests, a group that performed for various charities; he played the guitar, harp, and piano.[3]

### Auxiliary Bishop of Boston

[edit]

On October 12, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Dooher as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston and titular bishop of Theveste . He received his episcopal consecration on December 12, 2006, from Cardinal Seán O'Malley, with Bishops Francis Irwin and Walter Edyvean serving as co-consecrators.[6] As an auxiliary, Dooher served as regional bishop for the South Pastoral Region.[7]

Dooher's 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.[8][9] He had been mentioned in a 2003 report by Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly as one of two priests who in the mid-1990's met with pastors in parishes affected by abuse cases. In a 2002 deposition by Bishop John McCormack, Dooher was noted as having participated in conversations in the archdiocese in 1994 about where to house abusive priests.[8]

### Retirement

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On June 30, 2018, Pope Francis accepted Dooher's letter of resignation as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston after he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.[5]

## See also

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Portals:

* Biography
* Catholicism
* United States

* Catholic Church hierarchy
* Catholic Church in the United States
* Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
* List of Catholic bishops of the United States
* Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f "Bishop John A. Dooher: A life trusting in God's providence". www.thebostonpilot.com. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
2. ^ a b c d e f g "Father John Dooher: Putting faith into practice". The Dedham Times. October 5, 2001. p. 14.
3. ^ a b c d e "Father John Dooher: Putting faith into practice". The Dedham Times. October 5, 2001. p. 14.
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ a b "Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Auxiliary Bishop John Dooher of Archdiocese of Boston | USCCB". www.usccb.org. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
6. ^ a b "Bishop John Anthony Dooher [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
7. ^ "Most Reverend John Anthony Dooher". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.
8. ^ a b Paulson, Michael (2006-10-13). "Priests' rise is called sign of change, hope". The Boston Globe.
9. ^ Yon-Gharbi, Sophie (2006-12-12). "Protesters Object to Reverend John Dooher's Elevation". Boston Indymedia.

## External links

[edit]

* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

## Episcopal succession

[edit]

Catholic Church titles

Preceded by

|  Auxiliary Bishop of Boston
2006-2018  | Succeeded by

* v
* t
* e

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

Ordinaries|

Bishops
Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus
Benedict Joseph Fenwick
John Bernard Fitzpatrick

Archbishops
John Joseph Williams
William Henry O'Connell
Richard Cushing
Humberto Sousa Medeiros
Bernard Francis Law
Seán Patrick O'Malley
Richard Henning

Auxiliary bishops
Cristiano Borro Barbosa
Robert Francis Hennessey
Mark William O'Connell
Robert Philip Reed
Peter J. Uglietto

Emeriti bishops
John Anthony Dooher
Arthur L. Kennedy

Deceased
Joseph Gaudentius Anderson
Thomas Francis Markham
Emilio S. Allué
Francis Xavier Irwin
Walter James Edyvean

Churches|

List
List of churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

Cathedral
Cathedral of the Holy Cross

Basilicas and shrines
Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Boston
St. Anthony Shrine, Boston
St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine, Boston
Our Lady of Good Voyage, the Seaport Shrine

Parishes
Holy Name, West Roxbury
Holy Trinity, Lowell
Our Lady of Czestochowa, Boston
Our Lady of Good Voyage, Gloucester
Our Lady Help of Christians, Newton
Sacred Heart, Cambridge
St. Albert the Great, Weymouth
St. Charles Borromeo, Waltham
St. John the Baptist, Salem
St. John the Evangelist, Cambridge
St. Joseph, Boston
St. Leonard, Boston
St. Mary, Dedham (History)
St. Mary, Milton
St. Mary, Newton
St. Mary, Waltham
St. Mary, Winchester
St. Mary - St. Catherine of Siena, Charlestown
St. Paul, Cambridge
St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr, Chelsea
St. Susanna, Dedham

Former parishes
Holy Cross, Boston
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, East Boston
St. Aidan, Brookline
St. Catherine of Sienna, Charlestown
St. Joseph, Roxbury
St. Mary, Charlestown
St. Stephen, Boston

Education|

Seminaries
Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary
St. John's Seminary

Colleges
Boston College
Emmanuel College
Labouré College
Merrimack College
Regis College
St. John's Seminary

Closed
Marian Court College

High schools
Academy of Notre Dame, Tyngsboro
Arlington Catholic High School, Arlington
Austin Preparatory School, Reading
Bishop Fenwick High School, Peabody
Boston College High School, Dorchester
Cathedral High School, Boston
Catholic Memorial School, West Roxbury
Central Catholic High School, Lawrence
Cristo Rey Boston High School, Dorchester
Fontbonne Academy, Milton
Lowell Catholic High School, Lowell
Malden Catholic High School, Malden
Newton Country Day School, Newton
Notre Dame Academy, Hingham
Notre Dame High School, Lawrence
St. John's Preparatory School, Danvers
St. Mary's High School, Lynn
Saint Sebastian's School, Needham
Ursuline Academy, Dedham
Xaverian Brothers High School, Westwood

Closed
Cambridge Matignon School, Cambridge
Don Bosco Technical High School, Boston
Elizabeth Seton Academy, Boston
Hudson Catholic High School, Hudson
Marian High School, Framingham
Mount Alvernia High School, Newton
Nazareth Academy, Wakefield
Our Lady of Nazareth Academy, Wakefield
Pope John XXIII High School, Everett
Presentation of Mary Academy, Methuen
Sacred Heart High School, Kingston
Saint Clement High School, Medford
Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, Boston
St. Dominic Savio Preparatory High School, Boston
Trinity Catholic High School, Newton

Former
Archbishop Williams High School, Braintree
Cardinal Spellman High School, Brockton

Priests|

John P. Brennan
Charles A. Finn
Gerald Fitzgerald
John Geoghan
George Kerr
Philip King
Mimie Pitaro
Patrick O'Beirne
Dennis J. O'Donovan
Paul Fitzpatrick Russell
Paul Shanley
Henry A. Walsh

Other|

The Pilot (archdiocese newspaper)
CatholicTV
Regina Cleri
Catholic Archdiocese of Boston sex abuse scandal

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* Catholicism portal

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