Timothy Doherty

Timothy Lawrence Doherty (born September 29, 1950) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was a priest of the Diocese of Rockford in Illinois until he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana by Pope Benedict XVI on May 12, 2010. On July 15, 2010, Doherty was consecrated, becoming the sixth bishop of the diocese.

Biography Early life and education Timothy Doherty was born on September 29, 1950. in Rockford, Illinois, the eldest of seven children of Lawrence and June Doherty. In 1964, at age 14, he decided to become a priest. He then entered St. Mary Minor Seminary in Crystal Lake, Illinois. After graduating from St. Mary in 1968, Doherty enrolled at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Ambrose in 1972.

Doherty in 1972 traveled to Rome to enter the seminary at the Pontifical North American College. He was awarded a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1975 from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

After his 1976 ordination, the diocese assigned Doherty as an associate pastor at the Cathedral of St. Peter Parish in Rockford, where he remained for five years. Doherty received his episcopal consecration at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception from Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein on July 15, 2010, with Higi and Bishop Thomas G. Doran serving as co-consecrators.

Doherty in August 2018 said that he was disgusted and angry about the findings of massive clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups of that abuse in Pennsylvania in a special grand jury report released by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. On July 1, 2020, Doherty suspended Reverend Theodore Rothrock, a priest at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Carmel, Indiana, from public ministry. In a Sunday bulletin, Rothrock had described Black Lives Matter (BLM) organizers as like parasites and maggots. Rothrock later apologized for his statement. A week later, Doherty stated that he does not support the BLM organization and condemned violence at peaceful demonstrations.