Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana

The Indiana area was part of the French colony of New France during the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century. It was explored by French fur traders and missionaries under the Bishop of Quebec. It became British territory after the French Indian War ended in 1763; however, the British government refused to allow American colonists to enter the region.

Several years after the American Revolution in 1789, Pope Pius VI erected the Diocese of Baltimore, covering the entire United States.{{Cite web |title=Baltimore (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dbalt.html |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}} John Francis served as vicar-general in the west from 1798 until his death in 1804. In 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Bardstown, with jurisdiction over the Indiana Territory and other areas in the Midwest.[https://books.google.com/books?id=mOkYAAAAYAAJ&q=Roman+Catholic+Diocese+of+Fort+Wayne%E2%80%93South+Bend Alerding, Herman Joseph. The Diocese of Fort Wayne, 1857-September 1907, Fort Wayne, Indiana., Archer Print Company, 1907]

The Diocese of Vincennes was created in 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI to cover the entire state of Indiana and part of Illinois.{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dindi.html |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}} The diocese sent many French missionaries to this very anti-Catholic area. The most notable missionary was Mother Theodore Guerin, who made her way to southern Indiana with her Sisters of Providence in 1841. Guerin and the other sisters formed St. Mary of the Woods College at Terre Haute, Indiana. Many alumni of St. Mary traveled throughout Indiana preaching.

In 1857, Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Fort Wayne, taking its territory from the Diocese of Vincennes. The Lafayette area would be part of this diocese for the next 87 years.{{Cite web |title=Fort Wayne-South Bend (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dfwsb.html |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}

Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana on October 21, 1944, with territory of the Diocese of Fort Wayne.{{Cite web |title=Fort Wayne-South Bend (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dfwsb.html |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}} The new diocese had 54 parishes and an approximate population of 31,700 Catholics. In 1945, the pope named Reverend John Bennett of Fort Wayne as the first bishop of the new diocese.

Monsignor John Carberry of the Diocese of Brooklyn was appointed coadjutor bishop of Lafayette in Indiana to assist Bennett in 1956 by Pius XII. When Bennett died in 1957, Carberry automatically became the next bishop of Lafayette in Indiana.{{cite news |title=John Joseph Cardinal Carberry |work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |url=http://www.Catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bcarberry.html}}{{Self-published source|date=April 2015}}{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Kenneth T. |title=The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives |last2=Markoe |first2=Karen |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |others=Arnie Markoe |year=2002 |volume=V |location=New York}}

Carberry convened the first diocesan synod and established the Diocesan Council of Men and the Society for Priestly Vocations during his tenure. A 1964 census of the diocese found a population of 73,822 Catholics and noted a move from mostly rural populations to scattered suburban areas. In 1965, Pope Paul VI appointed Carberry as bishop of the Diocese of Columbus.

In August 1965, Paul VI appointed Monsignor Raymond Gallagher of the Diocese of Cleveland as the next bishop of Lafayette in Indiana.{{cite news |title=Bishop Raymond Joseph Gallagher |work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgallrj.html}}{{Self-published source|date=August 2015}} Within his first five years, Gallagher dedicated many churches in northern Indiana.

With Gallagher's retirement in 1982, Auxiliary Bishop George Fulcher of the Diocese of Columbus was appointed by Pope John Paul II as his replacement.{{Cite web |title=Bishop George Avis Fulcher [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bfulcher.html |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}} In January 1984, Fulcher died in a car crash. The pope selected Monsignor William Higi in 1984 to succeed Fulcher.{{Cite web |title=Bishop Emeritus William L. Higi |url=https://dol-in.org/bishop-emeritus-william-l-higi |access-date=2021-11-14 |website=Diocese of Lafayette |language=en}}

File:Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana.jpg

Higi opened St. Theodore Guerin High School in Noblesville. In addition to working within the diocese, he also established outreach programs to Haiti. After over 26 years as bishop, Higi retired in 2010.{{Cite web |title=† Archindy.org: The Criterion Online Edition - July 9, 2010 |url=https://www.archindy.org/criterion/local/2010/07-09/higi.html |access-date=2021-11-14 |website=www.archindy.org}}

The current bishop of Lafayette in Indiana is Timothy Doherty from the Diocese of Rockford. Doherty was named by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. Between 1990 and 2010, the number of priests in the diocese had fallen from 154 to 129. To alleviate the shortage, Doherty recruited priests from Nigeria and Mexico.{{cite web |date=April 8, 2013 |title=Churches struggling with shortage of priests |url=https://duboiscountyherald.com/b/churches-struggling-with-shortage-of-priests |accessdate=August 8, 2020 |publisher=Dubois County Herald |agency=Associated Press}}

In July 2020, Doherty suspended Reverend Theodore Rothrock, a priest at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Carmel, from public ministry. In a Sunday bulletin, Rothrock had described the Black Lives Matter organizers as parasites and maggots. Rothrock later apologized for his remarks.{{Cite web |date=2020-07-01 |title=Bishop Doherty suspends priest who compared Black Lives Matter to 'maggots and parasites.' |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2020/07/01/bishop-doherty-suspends-priest-who-compared-black-lives-matter-maggots |access-date=2022-03-03 |website=America Magazine |language=en}}

In 1988, Reverend Ron Voss was first accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy. After undergoing therapy, Voss transferred to Haiti. He was ultimate laicized in 1993. Eight men eventually accused Voss of sexual abuse when they were teenagers.{{Cite web |title=Sins of the Fathers [Lafayette diocese, Indiana, Sego, Voss, Bohlinger, Wieber, Tracey, Funcheon, Maupin, Mahalic, Moran] |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news/1997_02_16_IS_SinsOf.htm |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}} Also in 1988, Reverend Ken Bollinger was removed from public ministry by the diocese after it received complaints of him sexually abusing teenage boys. He confessed to plying his victims with alcohol and playing sexual games with them. Bollinger was laicized in 2009.

The diocese was sued in 1995 by a woman who claimed she was sexually abused by Monsignor Arthur Sego. However, the case was dismissed in court as the crime was past the statute of limitations.{{Cite web |title=The Bishop's Justice, Linda Graham Caleca and Richard D. Walton [Lafayette diocese, Indiana, Higi, Sell] |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news/1997_02_17_Caleca_TheBishops.htm |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}} Sego was removed permanently from ministry in 1994. He was accused of fondling adult women and photographing young nude girls.

In 1997, the Indianapolis Star and News published a series of articles on sexual abuse allegations against priests in the diocese and the mishandling of these cases by diocesan officials.{{Cite web |title=Report Sexual Abuse Took Place in Diocese, by Bob Scott, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN), February 1, 2004 |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news3/2004_02_01_Scott_ReportSexual_Donald_Eder_ETC_1.htm |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}} The paper reported that Bishop Higi established two tiers of response to sexual abuse claims:

• If the victim was under age 13, the diocese permanently removed the priest from ministry
• If the victim was over age 13, but still a minor, the diocese sent the priest away for therapy, then returned him to some ministerial role.

In 2003, Higi reported that 18 priests serving in the diocese since 1950 had been accused by 26 parishioners of sexually abusing them as minors. The diocese had removed nine priests from ministry due to credible accusations.{{Cite web |date=2003-12-31 |title=Report: 26 minors accuse 18 Lafayette diocese priests of sex abuse |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2003/report-26-minors-accuse-18-lafayette-diocese-priests-of-sex-abuse/ |access-date=2021-11-14 |website=Poynter |language=en-US}}

The diocese was sued in September 2018 by a man who claimed that he had been sexually abused as a minor by Reverend James Grear at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in 1982. When the boy reported the alleged crime to another priest at that time, the priest told him to pray to God for forgiveness and forget about the incident. Two other men were later added to the lawsuit.{{Cite web |date=2018-09-27 |title=Lawsuit claims Diocese of Lafayette allowed one of its priests to sexually abuse multiple children |url=https://cbs4indy.com/news/lawsuit-claims-diocese-of-lafayette-allowed-one-of-its-priests-sexually-abuse-multiple-children/ |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=WTTV CBS4Indy |language=en-US}} Grear was permanently removed from ministry in 2001.{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2018 |title=Priests who Served in the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana with Substantiated Allegations of Sexual Misconduct with Minors |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/diocesan_lists/Lafayette_IN/2018_09_28_Lafayette_IN_Substantiated_Allegations.pdf |access-date=July 30, 2023 |website=The Catholic Moment}}

In 2020, a Navajo Nation man sued the diocese, claiming that he had been abused by Grear after the priest moved to Arizona. The 2020 plaintiff accused the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana of covering up Grear's history of sexual abuse crimes when he transferred.{{Cite web |title=Lawsuit: Catholic priest abused children in Indigenous, rural communities in Arizona |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2020/10/01/lawsuit-says-catholic-church-moved-priest-james-grear-to-arizona-schools-knowing-abuse-claims/5874176002/ |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US}}

The diocese in March 2022 suspended Reverend James DeOreo from ministry after it received allegation of sexual abuse and other offenses from a minor. DeOreo sued the diocese in April 2022, saying that it had investigated the allegations twice and found no evidence to support them.{{Cite web |date=April 19, 2022 |title=Carmel priest files lawsuit in response to allegations of inappropriate conduct |url=https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/carmel-priest-files-lawsuit-in-response-to-allegations-of-inappropriate-conduct-indiana-diocese-father-james-deoreo/531-815aac3c-71be-4c4c-ab26-a97598b8b286 |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=wthr.com |language=en-US}}

1. John George Bennett (1944–1957)
2. John Joseph Carberry (1957–1965), appointed Bishop of Columbus and later Archbishop of Saint Louis (elevated to cardinal in 1969)
3. Raymond Joseph Gallagher (1965–1982)
4. George Avis Fulcher (1983–1984)
5. William Leo Higi (1984–2010)
6. Timothy Doherty (2010–present)

File:Saint Mother Theodore 8x10 (cropped).jpg (1852)]]

From its beginning in 1944, the patron of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana has been the Immaculate Conception. The feast day for the Immaculate Conception is December 8th.

During the early 21st century, the diocese began contemplating a second patron. With the formation of St. Theodore Guerin High School in Noblesville in 2004, the diocese named Théodore Guérin as another patron.

{{Infobox COA wide

|image = Coat of arms of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana.svg

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|notes = Coat of arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected

|year_adopted = 1944

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|escutcheon = The arms of the diocese contain a crescent over a crenellated dividing line. It also features a field of bell-like devices in silver and blue. Superimposed over the field is a red shield with a diagonal gold bar.

|supporters =

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|motto =

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|symbolism = The crescent is the emblem of Mary, mother of Jesus, under the title of the Immaculate Conception. She is a patroness of the diocese and its cathedral. The crenellated dividing line suggests a fort wall, likely representing homage to Fort Ouiatenon. The bell-like devices, the red shield and the diagonal gold bar represent the coat of arms of the Marquis de Lafayette, the namesake of Lafayette, Indiana.

|previous_versions =

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• Saint Joseph's College, Rensselaer, offers certificate programs in health science, veterinary science, CPR training and executive education.{{Cite web |title=Your Path Starts Here {{!}} Saint Joseph's College |url=https://www.saintjoe.edu/ |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=Home {{!}} Saint Joseph's College |language=en}}

{{see also|Catholic schools in the United States}}

• Lafayette Central Catholic Jr/Sr High School, Lafayette
• St. Theodore Guerin High School, Noblesville

• WRDF "Redeemer Radio" 106.3 FM licensed to Columbia City and based in Fort Wayne, plus audiostream.
• WSQM "Catholic Radio Indy" 90.9 FM in Noblesville. It is a repeater of WSPM 89.1 based in Indianapolis and licensed in Cloverdale, plus audiostream.

The Diocese of Lafayette publishes a weekly newspaper, The Catholic Moment, started in 1945. Its circulation is approximately 28,000.{{cite web|url=http://thecatholicmoment.org/|title=The Catholic Moment|publisher=Diocese of Lafayette|accessdate=2015-01-15}}

:See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States#Province of Indianapolis

• {{cite book |last=Burton |first=Katherine |title=The Eighth American Saint: The Life of Saint Mother Theodore Guérin, Foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana |publisher=ACTA Publications |place=Skokie, Illinois |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-87946-324-3}}
• {{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Penny Blaker |title=Mother Theodore Guerin – Saint of God: A Woman for All Time |publisher=Sisters of Providence |place=Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana |year=2006}}
• {{cite book |last=Prosen |first=Reverend Anthony, S.T.L., PH. D. |title=A History of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana |publisher=Éditions su Signe |year=2006 |isbn=2-7468-1682-2}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://dol-in.org/ Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana Official Site]

{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana}}

{{Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Indianapolis}}

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Category:Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Indianapolis

Category:Roman Catholic Dioceses in Indiana

Category:History of Catholicism in Indiana

Lafayette in Indiana

Category:Christian organizations established in 1944

Category:1944 establishments in Indiana

Lafayette in Indiana