Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone announced today [Feb. 24] the appointment of Rev. Mark Doherty as the new rector of St. Patrick’s Seminary & University. Fr. Doherty has been the interim rector since October, 2020.
In making the announcement, Archbishops Cordileone said, “I am very happy to appoint Fr. Doherty as the rector of St. Patrick’s Seminary. Fr. Doherty has already shown outstanding leadership in these months as interim rector, and his assuming the position of rector now in a stable manner holds out great promise for the future of the seminary. I appreciate his willing acceptance of this appointment, and the commitment, zeal and expertise he brings to this most important position in the life of the Church.”
Fr. Doherty affirmed his welcome of this new role, saying, “Convinced as I am that there is no better time to be a priest of Jesus Christ, I am grateful for this charge, for the privileged opportunity to share in the work of forming priests for the third millennium. I am all the more enthused to assume this mission because it affords me the opportunity to work side-by-side with an outstanding group of colleagues.”
Fr. Doherty was born on base at Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, Washington. His first years of life were spent in west Africa (Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso), where his father worked for Catholic Relief Services. In the summer of 1982 the family relocated to San Francisco. Mark and his brothers attended the Lycée français, St. Monica School, and Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep. He holds degrees from St. Louis University, Fordham University, St. Patrick’s Seminary & University, and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. In 2000 he joined the California Province of Jesuits, which led to many and varied U.S. and international assignments.
In 2010 Fr. Doherty began teaching at Marin Catholic High School and soon thereafter entered St. Patrick’s Seminary, with his Archdiocesan ordination in 2014. In addition to teaching, he has served the Archdiocese as a parochial vicar, hospital and high school chaplain, and on the Presbyteral Council and College of Consultors. He is fluent in French and Spanish….
The above comes from a Feb. 24 statement issued by the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Under Archbishop Cordileone’s oversight, St. Patrick’s has become an excellent seminary. Thanks be to God.
Seems very well qualified. I think the announcement would more informative if the type of degrees was shown for each institution attended. I’m sure some will criticize the fact he is a Jesuit. Having graduated from a Jesuit High School, I know they do a fine job.
The news article is admittedly insufficiently clear about his Jesuit affiliation, but it seems Fr. Doherty is not a member of the Society of Jesus. The article says he was a Jesuit for a time, then implies that he left the society, taught high school and subsequently was formed and ordained as a diocesan secular priest in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
I disagree with you that Jesuits today do a fine job. If you graduated from a Jesuit high school in the 1950s, well, they did an excellent job back then. From the 1970s on, the Jesuits have been resting on laurels they no longer deserve, and there’s hardly a Jesuit high school or university that I would recommend to a seriously-minded Catholic. Jesuits are no longer the intellectual elite in the Church; they are more like sly social justice warriors with hidden anti-Catholic agendas, if not outright heretics. Put it this way: a priest like Fr. James Martin, S.J. would not have been tolerated in the 40s and 50s; now he’s celebrated.
Bishops in the US were recently interviewed for a news story and their responses reported while protecting their identities. Not a single bishop could identify any recently ordained priests or seminarians who were inspired to become priests by Pope Francis. Not one. Nobody looks to Francis for inspiration or leadership. They also admitted that was a big and uncomfortable problem. Pope Francis is not helping the church.
That’s an interesting point. I’ve known priests who identify themselves as “JPII” priests and some who’ve pointed to Pope Benedict as a factor in their vocations. Yet, I can’t think of a priest, or seminarian, who pointed to Pope Francis as a reason. There was also talk of a “Francis effect,” with many more people coming back to or into the Church, and others not leaving, as a result of the current papacy. There is no evidence of that.
At age 84, might he consider retirement from such an arduous position?
(Pope Benedict retired at age 85 and was the fourth oldest person to serve as Pope.)
This is good news for a place that was once known as “the Pink Palace.” Now, pray that men studying for the priesthood for the Diocese of San Jose will be permitted to return and no longer have to be educated and formed at Cardinal Cupich’s seminary (one of Bishop McGrath’s last acts before retiring).
Um, I believe PJ moved seminary formation to Chicago because he didn’t like the orthodoxy at St. Patrick’s, not because it was a “pink palace.” This move is hardly likely to bring San Jose’s seminarians back, if the attitude of the new Bishop Cantu is similarly disdainful towards orthodoxy. Don’t hold your breath, is all I’m saying.
Bp. Cantu is orthodox but very, very weak and ineffectual. Incredibly poor administrator. Stay tuned.
If Archbishop Cordileone chose him, I have great confidence that he will be a fine, orthodox formater of seminarians. After tales I heard of certain former professors at St. Patrick’s [especially one Sulpician moral theology professor], I hope that his discipline will be gentle but as sufficiently firm as justice requires. I hope that he will promptly usher to other fields of endeavor seminarians who exhibit immaturity, questionable morality or who only feign belief and adherence to Church teaching.
It is hard to over-estimate what damage one bad apple can do.
Especially if you eat it.
Cordileone also appointed faith-based community organizer (and Jesuit) George Schultze a few years ago. So much for confidence.
Hymie, I’ve met and had a brief conversation with Fr. Schultze. Other than possibly his involvement in organized labor, can you provide any examples of where he strays from the Catholic faith?
(And, I’m not saying Union labor is contrary to the faith, but I do understand the concern conservatives have about it.)
Thank you.
Community Organizing and Seminarian Leadership Development
Rev. George E. Schultze, SJ
Pages 25-29:
http://seminaryjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/SJWinter10.pdf
Did you actually read the article you reference? There is absolutely nothing in it that is contrary to the faith. If anything, the article offers a largely conservative approach to community organizing. Or do you believe that all community organizing is evil? If so, it is you who is straying — not Fr. Schultze.
Community Organizing has no place in seminary.
“President Barack Obama is wont to say that he learned more working as a community organizer in Chicago than he learned as a student at Harvard Law School. Through his organizing, he learned to see, judge and act in classical Catholic Action fashion, and he also grew as a leader.”
– Rev George E Schultze, SJ
Catholic Action does not mean the dissident organization like Call to Action here in the US, The classical meaning of Catholic Action was for laity to have a Catholic influence on society. There are groups now which have reclaimed the original meaning.
I did not conflate the two.
A Saul Alinsky disciple has no business running a seminary, but the point is the kind of slop that flies under the radar and how readily seminaries are penetrated.