{{Short description|American prelate (1919–1982)}} {{Infobox Christian leader | honorific-prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend | name = Joseph Vincent Sullivan | honorific-suffix = | bishop_of = Bishop of Baton Rouge<br>titular bishop of Thagamuta | image = | caption = | province = | diocese = | see = Diocese of Baton Rouge | enthroned = September 4, 1974 | ended = September 4, 1982 | predecessor = Robert Emmet Tracy | successor = Stanley Joseph Ott | ordination = June 1, 1946 | consecration = April 3, 1967 | other_post = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1919|8|15}} | birth_place = Kansas City, Missouri, US | death_date = {{death date and age|1982|9|4|1919|8|15}} | death_place = Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US | buried = | nationality = | religion = Roman Catholic Church | education = Catholic University of America | ordained_by = Edwin Vincent O’Hara | consecrated_by = Charles Herman Helmsing | motto = ''Serviam''<br>(I will serve) | previous_post = Auxiliary Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph (1967 to 1974) }}
'''Joseph Vincent Sullivan''' (August 15, 1919—September 4, 1982) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Louisiana from 1974 until his death in 1982. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph in Missouri from 1967 to 1974.
Sullivan was credibly accused by several parishioners of sexual abuse, later admitted by the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
==Biography==
=== Early life === Joseph Sullivan was born on August 15, 1919, in Kansas City, Missouri, to John Lawrence and Anastasia Agnes (née Presser) Sullivan.<ref name="curtis">{{cite book|last=Curtis|first=Georgina Pell|title=The American Catholic Who's Who|volume=XXI|year=1977|publisher=Walter Romig|location=Grosse Pointe, Michigan}}</ref> He received his early education at local Catholic schools, and began his seminary formation in Missouri.<ref name="bishops">{{cite news|work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge|title=The Bishops of Baton Rouge|url=http://www.diobr.org/news/bishops.htm|access-date=2010-06-03|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011119131957/http://www.diobr.org/news/bishops.htm|archive-date=2001-11-19|url-status=dead}}</ref> He then studied at the Sulpician Seminary of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.<ref name="curtis" />
=== Priesthood === Sullivan was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Edwin Vincent O’Hara for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, on June 1, 1946.<ref name="hierarchy">{{cite news|work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org|title=Bishop Joseph Vincent Sullivan|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bsulljv.html}}</ref> He earned a doctorate in theology from the Catholic University in 1949.<ref name="bishops" />Sullivan served as assistant superintendent (1948–50) and superintendent (1951–57) of diocesan schools.<ref name="curtis" /> From 1957 to 1967, Sullivan was chancellor of the diocese.<ref name="curtis" />
=== Auxiliary Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph === On March 4, 1967, Sullivan was appointed auxiliary bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph and titular bishop of ''Thagamuta'' by Pope Paul VI.<ref name="hierarchy" /> He received his episcopal consecration in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 3, 1967, from Bishop Charles Herman Helmsing, with Cardinal John Cody and Bishop Joseph M. Marling serving as co-consecrators.<ref name="hierarchy" /> As an auxiliary bishop, he also served as vicar general of the diocese.<ref name="bishops" />
=== Bishop of Baton Rouge === Following the resignation of Bishop Robert Emmet Tracy, Sullivan was named the second bishop of Baton Rouge by Paul VI on August 8, 1974.<ref name="hierarchy" /> His installation took place at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Baton Rouge on September 4, 1974.<ref name="hierarchy" /> He was strongly conservative and emphasized fidelity to Catholic doctrine.<ref name="history">{{cite news|work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge|title=Diocesan History|url=http://www.diobr.org/news/history.htm|url-status=dead|archiveurl=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011119131737/http://www.diobr.org/news/history.htm|archivedate=2001-11-19}}</ref> In February 1979, Sullivan refused to allow theologian Charles Curran, whom he denounced as "heretical" and "not in accord with Catholic teaching", to speak at the Catholic Campus Ministry at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.<ref name="collins">{{cite book|editor1-first=Paul|editor1-last=Collins|title=From Inquisition to Freedom: Seven Prominent Catholics and Their Struggle with the Vatican|year=2001|publisher=Continuum|location=New York}}</ref> After he removed the Claretian Fathers from the chaplaincy at Louisiana State University in March 1979, 51 priests filed a list of grievances against Sullivan with the Vatican.<ref name="apologia">{{cite news|work=Apologia Pro Marcel Lefebvre|title=A Courageous Bishop Dies|url=http://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/Archbishop-Lefebvre/Apologia/Vol_three/Chapter_72.htm}}</ref>
In February 1981, Sullivan issued a pastoral letter in which he declared that ministries to divorced and remarried Catholics "may not witness, explicitly or implicitly, that the living Church condones the marital lifestyle of those living in an invalid marriage."<ref name="apologia" /> An outspoken supporter of the anti-abortion movement, he frequently condemned abortion and euthanasia.<ref name="history" /> In 1981, Sullivan was the only Catholic bishop in the United States to vote against providing the endorsement of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to the Hatch Amendment being considered by the US Congress. Sullivan remarked, "Plain logic tells us this is a compromise, and I don't think we have to accept a compromise."<ref name="apologia" /> He also promoted Catholic education, establishing elementary schools and planning for a new high school.<ref name="history" />
=== Death and legacy === Joseph Sullivan died in Baton Rouge on September 4, 1982, at age 63.
In October 2009, the Diocese of Baton Rouge paid $225,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a man from Houston, Texas. The plaintiff claimed that he was sexually abused by Sullivan as a seminarian between 1978 and 1982.<ref name=abuse>{{cite news|date=2009-10-15|work=The Advocate-WBRZ|title=Dioceses settle case of abuse by BR bishop|url=http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/64334692.html|last=Gyan, Jr.|first=Joe|access-date=2010-06-03|archive-date=2010-01-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109191437/http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/64334692.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> St. Michael the Archangel High School in Baton Rouge, named after Sullivan, changed its name in 2005 following the settlement of a separate lawsuit alleging Sullivan had sexually abused a minor boy.<ref name=abuse/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Episcopal succession== {{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{succession box|before=Robert Emmet Tracy|title=Bishop of Baton Rouge|years=1974–1982 |after=Stanley Joseph Ott}} {{succession box|before=– |title=Auxiliary Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph|years=1967–1974 |after=–}} {{s-end}}
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Joseph Vincent}} Category:1919 births Category:1982 deaths Category:20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Category:American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent Category:Clergy from Kansas City, Missouri Category:Diocese of Baton Rouge Category:Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph Category:Catholic University of America alumni Category:Religious leaders from Missouri Category:Catholics from Missouri Category:20th-century American people