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.[1] 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.[2]

The Diocese of Vincennes was created in 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI to cover the entire state of Indiana and part of Illinois.[3] The diocese sent many French missionaries to this very anti-Catholic area. The most notable missionary was Sister 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.[4]

Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana on October 21, 1944, with territory of the Diocese of Fort Wayne.[5] 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.[5]

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.[6][7]

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.[6]

In August 1965, Paul VI appointed Monsignor Raymond Gallagher of the Diocese of Cleveland as the next bishop of Lafayette in Indiana.[8] 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.[9] In January 1984, Fulcher died in a car crash. The pope selected Monsignor William Higi in 1984 to succeed Fulcher.[10]

During Higi's reign, he 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.[11]

The current bishop of the Diocese 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.[12]

In July 2020, Doherty suspended Theodore Rothrock, a priest at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Carmel, from public ministry. In a Sunday bulletin, Rothrock had describe the Black Lives Matter organizers as parasites and maggots. Rothrock later apologized for his statement.[13]

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.[14] 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 sex games with them. Bollinger was laicized in 2009.[15]

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.[16] Sego was removed permanently from ministry in 1994. He was accused of fondling adult women and photographing young nude girls.[14]

In 1997, the Indianapolis Star and News published a series of articles on sexual abuse allegations against priests in the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana and the mishandling of these cases by diocesan officials.[17] The paper reported that Bishop Higi established two tiers of response to sexual abuse claims:

• If the victim was under age 13, the priest was permanently removed from ministry
• If the victim was over age 13, but still a minor, the priest was sent away for therapy, then returned to some ministerial role.[16]

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. Nine priests were removed from ministry due to credible accusations.[18]

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.[19] Grear was permanently removed from ministry in 2001.[15]

In 2020, an Navajo Nation man sued the diocese, claiming that he had been abused by Grear after he 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.[20]

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.[21]

• Saint Joseph's College, Rensselaer, offers certificate programs in health science, veterinary science, CPR training and executive education.[22]

• 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, established in 1945. Its circulation is approximately 28,000.[23]