Denver Newsroom, Nov 14, 2020 / 03:45 am (CNA).- In December 2019, Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln announced he was going on a medical leave of absence.
Citing diagnoses of depression and anxiety, as well as chronic insomnia and debilitating tinnitus (a constant ringing of the ears), the bishop said in a public statement that he would be receiving psychological as well as medical treatment.
It had taken him months to get to a point where he realized he needed help.
“It really goes back to the summer of 2018, so, long before I finally got to the point where I asked for some time off,” Conley told CNA.
“There were the difficulties in the Church with regard to the misconduct of priests…(including) here in my diocese,” he said. That summer was also when the McCarrick scandal broke, and when the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report came out.
Besides abuse scandals, Conley also had to close some diocesan schools that had been “running in the red for a number of years. And that’s always a difficult decision to make. It was the right decision, but it was a hard decision.”
There was also a priest of the diocese, younger than Conley, who died around that time. “There were a number of other things that kind of mounted,” Conley said. “I think that started it.”
As the problems mounted, Conley felt personally responsible for them all, as a bishop and as someone who cared about the people in his diocese.
“I (felt I) was responsible for all of this and that I had to try to fix it myself instead of surrendering to God,” he said.
But the physical and mental symptoms started compounding. He couldn’t sleep. He started losing interest in things he had once enjoyed. A constant ringing began in his ears. He felt overwhelmed.
“I used to tell people that great prayer that Saint John XXIII supposedly would say at night during the Second Vatican Council: ‘Lord, it’s your Church. I’m going to bed.’ And I wasn’t able to take my own advice,” he said. “I just was getting ground down.”
Conley said that while he never was tempted to use unhealthy coping mechanisms, like drugs or alcohol, he was worried what would happen if he continued to feel so anxious and overwhelmed.
In the spring of 2019, Conley went to Mayo Clinic and was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. He said he tried to rest, worry less, and go to counseling while maintaining his duties as a bishop, but it wasn’t working.
“I was trying to fix myself and as time went on, I realized that I couldn’t fix myself while I was still on the job, so to speak.”
Conley sought the counsel of some of his friends, including Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City; Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico; Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix; and Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha.
With the help of these friends, Conley presented his case before the U.S. Nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, during a private meeting at the November 2019 assembly of the U.S. bishops’ conference.
“And the nuncio said, ‘Well, I think you need some time off to get some professional help.’”
Until then, Conley had not even considered that a leave of absence was possible for a bishop.
“I was called by God to be a successor of the Apostles, we don’t have any record of the Apostles taking time off,” Conley said. “So I just didn’t think that a bishop could do that. And that somehow, that would be a sign of weakness or failure, or not being able to fulfill (my) duties. When in reality, we are body and soul. Grace builds upon nature. And so we need to take care of our physical and mental wellbeing in order to be good at whatever we’re doing.”
Conley said Pierre was very supportive, and told him to obtain a doctor’s note that could be sent along with the request to Pope Francis, since bishops are under obedience to the Holy Father.
By December 2019, Conley’s leave had been approved. On December 13, he announced the leave to his diocese. In the announcement, Conley said he had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and that he was taking a mental health leave.
“I wanted to be honest, and I wanted to be truthful about why I was leaving. If I’m going to leave, that’s a big deal. And I didn’t want to keep that a secret and leave it to people to speculate what (the reason for leaving) was,” he said.
Conley said he was overwhelmed by the positive and supportive response.
“I received a lot of letters and cards and notes, not only from people who I knew and who were writing to support me, but from people I didn’t even know, who themselves had struggled with some mental health issue, or (a relative) or some friend of theirs had,” he said.
“And they were so grateful to me for being so open about it and transparent. They thanked me for talking about it, because of the stigma that’s surrounding mental illness,” he said. “And that was helpful for me, comforting for me to know that I wasn’t the only one, and that I wasn’t alone in this.”
Shortly after the announcement, Conley left to stay in Phoenix, where he was able to receive treatment from a psychologist, a psychiatrist, and medical doctors, as well as spiritual direction.
Three months later, the rest of the world went on a sort of leave of absence as well, as the coronavirus pandemic caused national and global shutdowns. It made Conley’s recovery more difficult, he said.
“That didn’t help…the isolation, when I was down in Phoenix,” he said. He had a few good friends, particularly a young family, who were very helpful, he added. The couple were both former students of his at the University of Dallas, and they now have five kids, and would frequently invite Conley to their house.
“But it was just a strain, then, to see how the whole pandemic played out,” Conley said.
Conley said it was important that he had Catholic counselors and doctors to work with throughout his treatment, so that they were all on the same page about how his faith was a part of his recovery.
During recovery, Conley said he learned to re-frame his thinking, and to more fully trust God, as well as his staff and collaborators, with the responsibilities of a bishop. He re-learned the importance of sleep, healthy eating, exercise, and recreation as part of a well-balanced life.
“Because we’re body and soul that we need balance and we need a certain order in our life to help us stay healthy,” he said.
There can sometimes be a stigma against mental illness and treatment among some Christian circles, where the illness is seen as a sign of spiritual weakness that can be cured with more prayer.
But Conley said seeking help – including psychological, spiritual, and mental recovery – is an act of surrender to the will of God.
“One Scripture passage that jumps out is John 15, ‘Apart from the Lord, you can do nothing.’ And that’s what that I think can lead to mental illnesses, that you think it’s all up to you, that you have to solve all the problems in your life or in the world,” Conley said.
He said he has been so open with his experience because he wants to encourage others “to not hesitate to get help, when you need it. Don’t be embarrassed, or don’t feel like you’re weak or something, if you try to get help,” he said.
On Thursday, the Diocese of Lincoln announced that Conley would be returning from his leave of absence and resuming his duties on November 13, after 11 months of leave and recovery.
Conley said he is looking forward to being back with the people of the diocese, to continue helping foster vocations, and to promote Catholic education. He said he is excited about a new pro-life crisis pregnancy center being built across the street from the Planned Parenthood in Lincoln. He added that he’s also going to start thinking about evangelization post-COVID, because he fears that the Church may have lost some people from the pews during the lockdowns and extended dispensations.
But he’s going to ease back in, and he’s going to try to keep the things he learned in recovery at the forefront of his mind.
“I’m not going to hit the ground running, I’m hitting the ground walking,” he said.
He said he’s going to pace himself, and make sure he is exercising and getting good sleep and taking time to do things he enjoys.
“You don’t live to work, you need to work to live. And some people, especially in America today, we have this mentality of pragmatism or utilitarianism, where you’re working 18 hours a day…that’s no way to live life.”
He added that he would encourage anyone struggling, particularly due to the isolation of the ongoing pandemic, to reach out and get help.
“Don’t hesitate to seek help. And especially, if you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed. Being disconnected really is a source of pain. We’re meant to be in community and so I would say that if people are feeling disconnected in any way that they reach out and get help.”
“You’re not alone,” he added. “There are people out there that can help.”
[…]
Mr. Phillips is very quick to demand that others respect him, but he shows no respect for others; just rudeness and bullying.
It is shameful behavior, and that such a man is allowed to torment those poor kids who did *NOTHING* wrong and give maudlin interviews to oh-so-sympathetic reporters is disgraceful. I do not hesitate to use the word “malevolent” about him.
These Native Americans are protesting something, what is it? I believe their protest is against White Nationalism Trump style. There are many who want to believe this is a white Nation. It is not! We are a Nation made of of immigrants, many different colors of skin. When the Natives shouted “You stole our land” why not listen to what they have to say? We cannot continue our denial of what we done to them. On another site I was blacklisted for upholding the perennial teachings of the Church. The truth caused me to be blacklisted. Will the Register do the same?
I think that could go back to ancient times to find something to be offended by, or to find an injustice against ourselves, perceived or otherwise. But to go back to Christopher Columbus and claim that is relevant to a person living today is a bit of a stretch.
To what Register are you referring?
Judging by the man who accompanied Mr. Phillips, they were protesting the presence of those of European ethnicity in the United States.
I do not understand how you can conclude credibly that wanting secure borders and not wanting illegal aliens to, among other things, drive up the unemployment and drive down the salaries of lower-income Americans, not a few of whom do not have “white skin,” constitutes “White Nationalism.”
“When the Natives shouted “You stole our land” why not listen to what they have to say? We cannot continue our denial of what we done to them. ”
In this particular instance, I’m not going to listen to anybody who bullies teenagers and lies about it.
And if I did listen to them, what do you propose – that all immigrants and those descended from immigrants leave the country? Then, to take one example, we should send all the people with Anglo-Saxon blood out of Britain and leave it to the Celts. Oh, but wait, the Celts drove out the Picts, didn’t they? And what about the Danes?
And back to the United States, to whom would we give “their” land? Indians were not one monolithic group. Many tribes waged bloody warfare over lands (in contradiction to the myth of the sweet, happy, unified people sitting around holding hands and singing Kumbaya). So – many of them were perfectly happy to *gain* land by conquest; they’re hardly in a position to claim that it’s unjust that they *lost* land the same way.
I’ve not received a degree in History or even close to it, but my understanding of the population of North and South America is that the one time “land bridge” with Asia permitted the development of land previously uninhabited. Everyone came from Adam and Eve…we are all immigrants beyond the Garden! If the argument is that the people from Europe who came by ship later, or up through Central America after landing by ship there, were unfair to those they met here, then maybe we can agree that searches for wealth and fame common to most is at the core of the dispute, not the color of skin. Immigrants from Europe who came legally and immigrants who are coming yet from Central and South America are equal and as deserving of a new home as all who came here before are, including those who identify as “natives”. All here are required by Natural law to try to make room for their “brothers”.
The truth or your opinion of the truth?
We are a Nation made of(sic) of immigrants, many different colors of skin.
Including every single tribe of American Indians whose ancestors migrated to North America across the Bering Strait land bridge from Siberia several millenia ago.
Your subjective opinion and defense of a character as flawed as Nathan Stanard/Phillips is extremely short on facts.
Because WE haven’t done anything to them. We are responsible for our own sins, not those of someone who lived centuries before we were born. Simple as that.
Why have I been blacklisted from this site also. On Lifesite News the moderator is a very sensitive man. I spoke in defense of the Church and it hurt his touchy feely sentiments. What hapenned to masculine Catholicism???
If you mean, “Why did my comment not post immediately,” it’s because *nobody’s* comments post immediately. See the yellow box under “Leave a Reply?” It says “All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. Just wait, and your post will show up, unless it breaks the rules the editors have set – “comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published.”
I’m not an editor, just someone who read the statement.
Incidentally, PaxTecum77, are we to conclude that you are also IesuEt Maria, since you both write the same way?
Being banned at LifeSite is a badge of honor. Wear it proudly. Long before the election of Jorge Bergoglio, I was pointing out the culture of intrinsically disordered sexual deviants masquerading as Priests and their goal of destroying the Church. I was banned without explanation. With the revelations unleashed by grand jury reports, Archbishop Vigano’s testimonies, Wuerl’s behavior in Pennsylvania and DC and his getting caught lying about his knowledge of McCarrick, the none too secret rumors about McCarrick being confirmed, the behavior of Cupich, Tobin, Dolan, McElroy, et al, the behavior of the Peronist Pontiff, the behavior of the St. Gallen Mafia, the curia, Kasper, Marx, Danneels, et al, I’ve been vindicated. I’m still banned though and I’m proud of the fact that people like that don’t want to read opinions like mine. That doesn’t stop them from attempting to solicit donations from me to keep them afloat.
Mr. Phillips should harken to the Latino world on non boring rhythms….
https://youtu.be/2Wv89NBLinE
Even at church its also dangerous nowadays
Native(sic) American activist Nathan Phillips has violent criminal record and escaped from jail as teenager