James D. Conley

On April 10, 2008, Conley was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Denver, Colorado, and titular Bishop of Cissa by Pope Benedict XVI.[5] He was consecrated on May 30 by Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., with Bishop Michael Jackels of Wichita and Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.[5] His episcopal motto, "Cor Ad Cor Loquitur (Latin: "Heart Speaks To Heart"), is taken from the motto of English cardinal and fellow Catholic convert John Henry Newman.[3]

Speaking on proposed health care legislation in November 2009, Conley stated that Catholic bishops "have a few simple but important priorities. First, everyone should have access to basic health care, including immigrants...Second, reform should respect the dignity of every person, from conception to natural death... Third, real healthcare reform needs to include explicit, ironclad conscience protections for medical professionals and institutions so that they cannot be forced to violate their moral convictions. Fourth—and this is so obvious it sometimes goes unstated—any reform must be economically realistic and financially sustainable."[6]

In September 2011, when Charles Chaput was appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia, Conley became Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Denver. He remained until July 2012, when Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo was named Chaput's successor.[5]

On September 14, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Conley as Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska, succeeding Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz. He was installed on November 20, 2012, at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ.[7][8]

The Lincoln diocese participated in the first of the U.S. bishops’ audit of the implementation of the youth-protection charter in 2003, but then-Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz declined to participate again while awaiting refinements to the process.[9] In June 2014, the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' National Review Board for the protection of children reported that Conley's diocese was one of four in the United States that had yet to comply with the USCCB's charter requiring every diocese to submit its procedures for the protection of children to the Review Board for an audit.[10] According to a 2015 statement by Conley, the Lincoln Diocese complied with all church and civil laws on child-abuse reporting and child protection; he stated that the audit process had been improved, and that the diocese would now participate.[9]

On December 13, 2019, Conley announced that he is taking a medical leave of absence to treat depression, anxiety, insomnia, and tinnitus. Archbishop George Lucas, Archbishop of Omaha, is to serve as apostolic administrator during Bishop Conley’s temporary leave of absence.[11]