By Gretchen Keiser

Bishop John F. Donoghue, 64, a Washington, D.C. native who has been bishop of Charlotte, N.C. for nine years, will become the fifth archbishop of Atlanta in mid-August.

"Utterly shocked and surprised" that he was chosen by Pope John Paul II to be Atlanta's new archbishop, he has been a priest for 38 years and a bishop since 1984. As one of two North Carolina diocesan bishops, Archbishop Donoghue is familiar with the Catholic Church in the South and has been a part of provincial meetings in which the bishops of Georgia, North and South Carolina gather. As archbishop of Atlanta, he will be the metropolitan of the Province of Atlanta.

The son of Irish immigrants, his father a government lawyer and his mother a domestic, who met and married in Washington, the archbishop will formally take charge of the See of Atlanta during a Vespers Service the evening of August 18. An installation Mass will follow the afternoon of August 19, both at the Cathedral of Christ the King.

The announcement of his selection by the Pope came June 22 after a six-month wait for a successor to the late Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM, who died December 27, 1992 of cancer.

Archbishop Donoghue came to Atlanta June 22, meeting Catholic Center staff and then the media, and later with the priests of the archdiocese at his future residence.

His years of experience as a priest in Washington, D.C. emphasize the administrative core of a large archdiocese, since he served for over 19 years on the staff of three successive Washington cardinals. However, Archbishop Donoghue said he puts greater importance on his pastoral role as a bishop.

"We get tied up with administration. It's the spiritual development of our people that matters," he said in an interview June 22.

"When I came to Charlotte I wanted to be with the people in the parishes... I wanted to be away from the desk."

As bishop of Charlotte, he visited each of more than 80 parishes and missions his first year there and initiated a practice of meeting with the parish staff, the parish council, any parish school and staff, celebrating Mass and staying overnight.

After completing the circuit once, he repeated it over a three-year period, in addition to his parish presence at celebrations of the sacrament of Confirmation.

"It was amazing to me how many people said `I've never met a bishop,'" Archbishop Donoghue said, calling the visitations a time to hear the people's concerns.

Seeking to develop the spiritual lives of his people in Charlotte, he emphasized devotion to the Eucharist, particularly in traditional Catholic forms.

"Vatican II talks about (the Eucharist) being the source and summit of our Christian lives," he said, but the attitude of people suggests a loss of reverence and respect for the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. As a result of his effort, the largest parish in Charlotte now has perpetual prayer before the Blessed Sacrament 24 hours a day every day.

The archbishop was leading a diocesan pilgrimage to the International Eucharistic Congress in Seville, Spain when he was informed of his appointment as archbishop of Atlanta.

By coincidence he was already scheduled to make the five-year "ad limina" visit to the pope as bishop of Charlotte during the last week in June. "Now we will have Atlanta to talk about also," he said.

Born in the heart of Washington's northwest section, he said he knew of his vocation to the priesthood in high school and switched from a Jesuit school to a minor seminary.

He received his bachelor's degree in philosophy and his master's degree in theology from St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore. After eight years in parishes as a newly-ordained priest, he was sent back to study canon law at Catholic University of America where he earned a licentiate in 1965.

From there he served a secretary to Cardinal Patrick O'Boyle and vice chancellor of the archdiocese, becoming chancellor before the cardinal retired in 1973. He was sustained in that post by Cardinal William Baum and Cardinal James Hickey, serving also as their vicar general and secretary for support services, until he was named Bishop of Charlotte in late 1984.

In North Carolina he was Charlotte's second bishop, succeeding Bishop Michael J. Begley on his retirement and was installed December 18, 1984.

Monsignor John McSweeney, v.g., chancellor in Charlotte and moderator of the curia, said Atlanta's new archbishop is "a very gracious and caring person," whose genuine concern for the poor includes "the poor in spirit."

"He's very much interested in people's spiritual lives. He is concerned about physical, emotional and spiritual poverty."

As an administrator of a diocese, "he's a great delegator, but holds people accountable. He doesn't watch over your shoulder, but truly believes in subsidiarity. His actions have proved that," Monsignor McSweeney said.

Archbishop Donoghue said that he was accustomed to having an open door policy, permitting those who want to meet with him to arrange appointments. He said that he believes in giving responsibility to support staff who are well-versed in particular areas and relying on their expertise.

"I want people to be able to feel they can recommend. Ultimately I will make the decision...I don't want the m to be afraid to make a recommendation," the archbishop said.

While the Charlotte diocese's Catholic population of 94,000 is about one-half that of the archdiocese of Atlanta, there are a number of similarities between the two.

The new archbishop said ethnic groups in Charlotte include Hispanic, Korean and Vietnamese Catholics, who are ministered to through apostolates and the celebration of the sacraments in native tongues in a variety of locations. In Charlotte, he said, he has resisted establishing ethnic parishes, preferring to find other ways to minister to Catholics arriving in the diocese with a variety of heritages. The diocese has an office of Hispanic ministry, a Vietnamese Apostolate, and a Korean Catholic Cultural Center.

The diocese also has an office of African-American ministry in Greensboro, N.C.

Like Atlanta, the diocese of Charlotte has grown in number of Catholics in recent years, from approximately 69,000 in 1988 to over 94,000 in 1993. However, overall Catholics make up 2.7 percent of the general population.

Monsignor Edward Dillon, administrator of the Atlanta archdiocese said he believes that the stability offered by the appointment of Archbishop Donoghue is very significant.

"My impression is he is a kind person with a great deal of interest in his priests and his parishes," Monsignor Dillon said. "He is an experienced administrator with years as a vicar general in Washington, D.C."

The appointment of a seasoned bishop and one from the same region of the country, seems to be "a vote for stability" after a number of years of turmoil in the archdiocese, the administrator said.

Another common thread is the fact that, like Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, and the late archbishop, the new archbishop served under Cardinal Hickey at one point in his tenure.

Asked to comment on that similarity, he laughed and said the cardinal is "a bishop-maker." He called the first cardinal he served, Cardinal O'Boyle, "a father figure to me."

All three cardinals "were kind, generous men...very understanding, very helpful ... I felt somewhat prepared to be a bishop after working with them," he said.

Among significant accomplishments during his tenure in Charlotte was the first Synod of the diocese which he called in 1986. There were three sessions of the Synod, ending in May 1987, according to The Catholic News & Herald, the diocesan newspaper.

Among the recommendations of the Synod was the reorganization of diocesan schools in regional structures, the newspaper reported.

Archbishop Donoghue also placed emphasis in evangelization to inactive Catholics and the unchurched, proclaiming the 1990s as the "decade of evangelization" in the Charlotte Diocese.

He initiated The Catholic News & Herald in 1991 and directed that the newspaper be made available to every Catholic household in the Charlotte diocese.

Archbishop Donoghue said that Charlotte like virtually every U.S. diocese, has a written policy concerning secual misconduct cases that may occur and that he has addressed two cases, both concerning allegations over 20 years old. In June, U.S. Bishops met to discuss the topic from a national perspective. "I think it would be very helpful to have a national policy," he said, since that would emphasize to the public that no matter what diocese they were in "this is what happens (when a case is reported) ... the policy is there, the policy is known."

At an opening press conference in Atlanta June 22, Archbishop Donoghue acknowledged the loss of two archbishops since 1990 in the diocese and said, "I hope that I'm going to be here for a very long time ... that there will be no scandals, no deaths ... that I will be here until I retire."

He said that while there may be "an issue of morale" it was not limited to the archdiocese of Atlanta. "I would hope to be able to provide the leadership they need and want" in the archdiocese, he said, citing his first priority as "to listen and to learn."

Responding to a question about American Catholics who disagree with church teaching on abortion, Archbishop Donoghue said he is "very strongly pro-life" and considers the act of abortion "equal to murder, frankly." He said he hopes "to take a strong pro-life stand" as the archbishop of Atlanta.

He placed his appointment "in the hands of the Lord ... and under the mantle of Mary, the mother of the Church."

Several priests of the archdiocese responded favorably to the appointment of a bishop they have known or observed in provincial meetings.

"I remember John as rather intellectual, a very hard worker, a very good student and very pious man," said Father Joe Beltran who was his classmate at St. Mary's Seminary. "He is a very affable person and has lots of friends..."

Father Pat Bishop, who chaired the Priests Council under Archbishop Lyke, said, "I'm elated ... He's pastoral, warm, human. The terms liberal, conservative, moderate, are meaningless in his case because he's so pastoral ... He is just a very good priest."

Father Henry Gracz, who has served as vicar for clergy, said, "Everyone is happy that the waiting period is over. Atlanta has a wonderful tradition since (Archbishop) Paul Hallinan of strong and committed lay leadership throughout the archdiocese. They are the people who will strongly welcome the new archbishop and make him feel at home."

(This article was compiled from reporting gathered by Paula Day and Gretchen Keiser.)