“Thankfully, my sister, friends, and medical professionals helped me recognize that it wasn’t selfish to take care of myself,” Conley noted.
At the end of 2019, Pope Francis granted Conley permission to take a leave of absence to recover from his mental health issues. Though it was “extremely hard to step away,” Conley said he received an “outpouring of support and prayer” from his diocese.
“I would need all that grace since the hardest part of my journey was still ahead,” he said.
While Conley was recovering, COVID-19 hit, causing the bishop’s “three anchors” of Mass, the rosary, and the Liturgy of the Hours to have “little solace” for him as he often had to offer Mass alone. Thrown into spiritual darkness, Conley “grappled” with the question “Where was God?”
Through meditating on his reliance on Christ, Conley began to recover from “unhealthy self-reliance” while developing his trust in God.
“I started to experience the freedom of surrender as I gradually allowed Jesus to shoulder burdens I had been carrying on my own,” he wrote.
“The last gift of this difficult healing season was my dog, Stella,” he continued. “My good friend Bishop James Wall of Gallup was in the process of getting a puppy and he convinced me to do likewise. We took a seven-and-a-half-hour road trip to El Paso to pick up four 8-week-old golden retrievers, two for us and two for other friends.”
“Looking back it’s funny to think that a 10-pound puppy was crucial in beginning to bring joy back into my life,” he continued. “Stella goes nearly everywhere with me now and is loved by all. Since I live alone, she provides needed companionship and ensures I get outside every day for walks.”
Conley ultimately returned from his leave of absence in November 2020, recovering with the help of several qualified Catholic doctors including a psychologist and psychiatrist. He shared his story with CNA in a 2020 interview.
Catholicism and mental health
Preserving faith through depression can be a challenge, but according to a 2012 study, being religiously involved can help people recover faster from depression. Resources for Catholics struggling with mental health vary; some parishes offer retreats or group ministries, while others provide referrals to therapy or other resources.
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Conley noted that in times of spiritual despair, we “must protect” the “treasure” of hope that comes from God.
“When hope wanes, let us remember the countless ways God has blessed us, the particular instances in our lives where he has ‘come through,’ and the dark times when he felt absent but, in hindsight, we could discern his presence,” he wrote.
“A Catholic view of mental health is necessary because it defines well-being according to reason and revelation,” Conley wrote.
“One might rightly ask, if we don’t speak of a Catholic physics or a Catholic biology, why do we need a Catholic understanding of mental health?” he continued. “The answer is because any notion of mental health is laden with beliefs about the human person, about true human anthropology … But notions of human flourishing depend on one’s beliefs about the human person’s origins, purpose, and destiny.”
Allison Ricciardi, a psychotherapist and counselor who launched the website CatholicTherapists.com in 2001, helps connect Catholics with therapists who are dedicated to the Catholic faith and its teachings.
“The teachings of the Church are really solidly grounded in an understanding of the human person,” she told CNA in a phone call. “Between Scripture and teachings of the Church, [they] really do help us to understand human nature and how grace perfects that nature.”
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