Bishop Doherty prays for the Indiana House of Representatives

INDIANAPOLIS – Bishop Timothy L. Doherty of the Lafayette Diocese offered the opening prayer for the Indiana House of Representatives earlier today.

Doherty was the guest of State Rep. Sheila Klinker (D-Lafayette), who is Roman Catholic. The Rockford, Illinois native offered words of encouragement as he prayed for all of the Indiana’s citizens. In particular, his prayer focused on education and the state’s students.

Doherty has dedicated much of his life to education. He taught religious studies at Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford for four years. He also was the assistant principal and religious department head at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock, Illinois from 1986-91. Doherty then served as an associate pastor at OSF St. Anthony College of Nursing in Rockford, where he taught theology and health care ethics for three years in the late 1990’s. In addition, he was appointed diocesan ethicist for health care issues.

The first bill the House considered and approved on third reading on Feb. 16 was House Bill 1002, a bill dealing with ethics.

“It seemed so appropriate for Bishop Doherty to offer his prayer and wisdom on the day we heard the ethics bill,” said Klinker. “The Bishop earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in moral theology at Pontifical Lateran University in Vatican City and then his doctorate in Christian ethics at Loyola University in Chicago. It was almost as if God shared Bishop Doherty with the Indiana House on a day of great significance regarding ethics. It was an honor to have his presence at the Statehouse.

“All of us in the Diocese of Lafayette should be proud to have a kind and patient shepherd like Bishop Doherty.”