William Murphy (Bishop of Rockville Centre) - Allegations of Protecting Abusive Priests

Allegations of Protecting Abusive Priests

Bishop Murphy has denied that he helped to protect abusive priests while he was second in command at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, before coming to Long Island in 2001. Murphy's denials contradicted a July 2010 report by the Massachusetts attorney general that stated that Murphy "placed a higher priority on preventing scandal and providing support to alleged abusers than on protecting children from sexual abuse."

The report also stated: "There is overwhelming evidence that for many years Cardinal Law and his senior managers (Bishop Murphy is identified in the report as a senior manager and a top archdiocesan official) had direct, actual knowledge that substantial numbers of children in the Archdiocese had been sexually abused by substantial numbers of priests. Any claim by the Cardinal or the Archdiocese’s senior managers that they did not know about the abuse suffered by, or the continuing threat to, children in the Archdiocese is simply not credible.”

The Catholic League defended Murphy, contending, amongst other things, that the allegations were unfounded and that Massachusetts did not require clergy at the time to report abuse; and the internal pastoral response was at the time the norm in all religions. The League also praised Murphy’s leadership and actions on issues involving sexual abuse since his appointment to the Diocese of Rockville Centre in September 2001.

Bishop Accountability.Org says Murphy is "is a key figure in the sexual abuse crisis, both because of his earlier role in the Boston archdiocese and because of conditions in Rockville Centre."