James Patrick Shannon was a Roman Catholic bishop. Born in South St. Paul, Minnesota

South St. Paul, Minnesota

South St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, immediately south and southeast of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is also southeast of West St. Paul, Minnesota. The population was 20,160 at the 2010 census. It is notable as one of the historic major meat packing cities in the United...

, James Shannon was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood on June 8, 1946 for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by the prelature of an archbishop which administers the archdiocese from the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis...

. On February 8, 1965, Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...

 appointed him to be the auxiliary bishop

Auxiliary bishop

An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...

 for the archdiocese and he was ordained a Roman Catholic Bishop on March 31, 1965. On November 22, 1968, Bishop Shannon resigned as auxiliary bishop because of his opposition to Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...

's encyclical

Encyclical

An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...

 Humanae Vitae

Humanae Vitae

Humanae Vitae is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and issued on 25 July 1968. Subtitled On the Regulation of Birth, it re-affirms the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church regarding married love, responsible parenthood, and the continuing proscription of most forms of birth...

. James Shannon died in Wayzata, Minnesota

Wayzata, Minnesota

Wayzata is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, a western suburb of Minneapolis. Wayzata came into existence in the center of Chief Shakopee's Indian village.-Early settlement:...

Published works

• Shannon, James P., Relunctant Dissenter: An Autobiography, 1968
• The Papers of James P. Shannon, Minnesota Historical Society