The sexual abuse scandal in the Milwaukee Archdiocese is a series of sexual-abuse cases that occurred in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, US.

Lawrence Murphy case

Lawrence Murphy was a priest who taught at the former St. John School for the Deaf in the

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

suburb of St. Francis from 1950 to 1974. He molested up to 200 deaf boys before the mid-1970s. Local law enforcement agencies, including the

Milwaukee Police Department The Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) is the police department organized under the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The department has a contingent of about 1,800 sworn officers when at full strength and is divided into seven districts. Jeffrey B. ...

, the St. Francis police, and the

Milwaukee County District Attorney The Milwaukee County District Attorney is a state constitutional officer responsible for criminal prosecution in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The current district attorney is Kent Lovern, who has served since 2025. History The first Milwaukee ...

, were informed of the abuse in 1974 by adult graduates of the St. John School for the Deaf, but expressed doubts about the credibility of the allegations and the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

, and did not proceed. Then Milwaukee Archbishop

William Edward Cousins William Edward Cousins (August 20, 1902 – September 14, 1988) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1958 to 1977. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago (1948–1952) an ...

gave Murphy a leave of absence in 1974 and allowed him to move to his mother's house in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, which is in the

Diocese of Superior The Diocese of Superior () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northwest Wisconsin in the United States. Its episcopal see is Superior, and the Cathedral of Christ the King in Superior is its mother c ...

. In September 1981 the Chancellor of the Archdiocese wrote the Bishop of Superior asking him to consider taking Murphy as a priest of Superior, but the suggestion was not acted upon. Murphy finally retired as a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in January 1993.

Rembert Weakland Rembert George Samuel Weakland (April 2, 1927 – August 22, 2022) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 to 2002. Weakland previously served as Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation from 196 ...

, Archbishop of Milwaukee, had Murphy evaluated by a psychotherapist in December 1993. During the interview, Murphy admitted molesting boys at least up until 1974, including during the

sacrament of penance The Sacrament of Penance (also commonly called the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession) is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church (known in Eastern Christianity as sacred mysteries), in which the faithful are absolved from si ...

, which is an offense under

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

. In July 1996, Weakland notified the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

and asked how to proceed. Although the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time did not have jurisdiction over most incidents involving sexual abuse by priests, it did have authority over cases involving solicitation by priests during the sacrament of penance. Weakland stated that " got an answer back saying yes. We could open the case", and the process against Murphy was begun in October 1996. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone instructed Wisconsin bishops to convene a canonical trial, which could have resulted in a range of punishments, including laicization. A formal church trial was initiated but later dropped because Archbishop Weakland decided that a pastoral solution was more appropriate because Murphy was elderly and in poor health. Murphy died several months after he requested that the Vatican halt a canonical trial against him because of his ill health. The Vatican has responded to concerns by noting that they had not been informed of the allegations until 20 years after they were first raised; that Murphy died within two years of Vatican notification of the allegations; that police investigations into the allegations at the time did not result in any cases being heard; and that there was nothing in the Vatican's actions that would prevent civil cases from proceeding."Vatican Declines to Defrock US Priest Who Abused Boys"
''New York Times'', March 25, 2010. As of March 2010, there were four outstanding lawsuits against the

Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan s ...

in the case.

Cover-ups of reports of sex abuse

In 1984, Archbishop Weakland responded to teachers in a Catholic school who were reporting

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

by local priests by stating "any libelous material found in your letter will be scrutinized carefully by our lawyers." The

Wisconsin Court of Appeals The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appe ...

rebuked him for this, calling his remarks "abrupt" and "insensitive".Dave Umhoefer, "Scandal casts new light on Weakland's statements", ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'', May 26, 2002. In 1994, Weakland said those reporting sexual abuse were "squealing". He later apologized for the remarks. According to the ''

'', a deposition released in 2009 revealed that Weakland shredded reports about sexual abuse by priests. Weakland admitted allowing priests guilty of child sex abuse to continue as priests without warning parishioners or alerting the police.Archbishop Rembert Weakland, Former Catholic Bishop Of Milwaukee, Says He's Gay
Weakland stated in his autobiography that in the early years of the sexual abuse scandal he did not understand that child sexual abuse was a crime.

2003 report on sexual abuse

Following public testimony by victims before a combined session of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

and Assembly Judiciary Committee, a report on the sexual abuse of minors by clergy in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee was published in September 2003. In response, Archbishop

Timothy Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of New York since 2009 and as a cardinal since 2012. Dolan served as the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ( ...

held a meeting with victims,

mental health professional A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a ...

law enforcement officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, ...

s, and clergy. Dolan helped the archdiocese avoid

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

resulting from the lawsuits, and closed a $3 million budget deficit in 2008. He later called the sexual abuse scandals the most challenging issue of his tenure in Milwaukee, saying "Does it haunt me? Yes it does. And I'm not afraid to admit that." Dolan said the church has made significant progress on addressing the scandal but that much work remains.

2011 bankruptcy filing

The archdiocese said that these additional cases would incur legal fees the diocese could not afford. The archdiocese has assets of about $98.4 million, but $90 million of that is already allocated. An attorney for some of the victims alleges that there were more than 8,000 cases of abuse by more than 100 staff.

Renamed buildings

On March 18, 2019, it was announced that former Archbishops William Cousins and Rembert Weakland would have their names removed from buildings in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee due to their poor handling of sex abuse cases. The renaming of office center which were named in their honor commenced on March 22, 2019.

Franciscan Friars controversy

On September 3, 2020, it was revealed that Wisconsin Franciscan Friar Paul West was extradited to Mississippi on sex abuse charges. Father James Gannon, the leader of a Wisconsin-based group of Franciscan Friars, had previous negotiated settlements for some of West's accusers in Mississippi. In addition to the Mississippi sex abuse charges, West has been charged with second-degree sexual assault of a child in Wisconsin.

References

External links

;Archdiocese of Milwaukee
Sexual Abuse Prevention & Response Services

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milwaukee Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in the United States Incidents of violence against boys Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee Violence against children Violence against men in the United States