James D. Conley

James Douglas Conley (born March 19, 1955) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln in Nebraska since 2012.

[1][2][3] Conley attended Hoskinson Cottage School in Arvada before moving to Overland Park, Kansas, at age eight.

Due to his Native American heritage, the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs paid for a portion of his college education.

Conley studied in KU's Integrated Humanities Program, whose courses on Greek and Roman classics led him to convert to Catholicism during his junior year of college on December 6, 1975.

Conley later studied at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1985.

Speaking on the Affordable Care Act for expanded health insurance coverage that was proposed by the Obama Administration 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.

[10] On December 13, 2019, Conley announced that he was taking a medical leave of absence to treat depression, anxiety, insomnia, and tinnitus.