A permanent deacon working at a Big Island parish has published a personal memoir of spiritual and societal transformation and of his eventual call to the diaconate triggered by the tragic death of his 26-year-old son 15 years ago in Missouri.
“A Place for Us to Meet,” by Deacon Jim Dougherty, is available through Amazon as an e-book or paperback at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1549858076/.
Dougherty was a successful and acclaimed educator in Kansas City, Missouri, when eight bullets fired by police officers resulted in the death of his depressed son. The bullets changed the trajectory of his life and that of his wife as they sought to forgive the two policemen who mistakenly believed that Aaron was charging and intending to kill the officers with two knives.
The incident was followed immediately by intense media coverage and reporting over the next two years revealed that Aaron’s death was the result of his personal irrationality and his desire to commit “suicide-by-cop.”
Behind the scenes, the Doughertys conducted quiet discussions with the police department based on a restorative justice model imbued with Catholic social teaching. Consequently, the police department agreed to engage in an unusual mediation involving a distinguished federal judge.
The climatic process and deliberations are described in intimate and candid detail, as is the subsequent press conference where the historic agreement to change police practice in Kansas City was finally unveiled. This work with the police department has had a lasting and transformative impact on how the police in the Midwest interact with the mentally ill.
The book includes several unique angles of great interest to families suffering grief as well as to police personnel and students of psychology. It describes the progression and development of mental illness, offers a new and unique process of restorative justice through non-adversarial discussion and mediation, and addresses forgiveness and healing for intense suffering.
Dougherty and his wife moved to Hawaii in 2010 while Dougherty commuted back to Kansas City for work and to complete his diaconal studies. Four years later he was ordained to the diaconate for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. He is “loaned” to the Diocese of Honolulu serving at St. Theresa Parish in Mountain View on the Big Island and part-time at St. Joseph Parish, Hilo.
Dougherty is a monthly columnist for “Catholic Stand,” an e-publication presenting essays and creative non-fiction with thoughtful insights into how to live the truth that the church teaches.
Dougherty will donate 10 percent of profits from the sale of his book to St. Theresa Parish.
