Biography
Born in Chicago, Illinois, William Cousins studied at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary, and was ordained to the priesthood on April 23, 1927. He then served as director of diocesan missions, and hosted retreats and other services in various states.
On December 17, 1948, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago and Titular Bishop of Forma by Pope Pius XII. Cousins received his episcopal consecration on March 7, 1949 from Samuel Cardinal Stritch, with Bishops John Boylan and Albert Zuroweste serving as co-consecrators. He was later named Bishop of Peoria on May 21, 1952; during his tenure, he established five new parishes and six new grade schools.
Cousins was appointed the eighth Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 18, 1958. From 1962 to 1965, he attended the Second Vatican Council, during which he sat on the Commission on Communications Media and on the Lay Apostolate. During the civil rights movement, Cousins was pressured to respond to the activities of his priests, particularly Fr. James Groppi, who led many civil rights marches and protests. In 1967, in response to many Milwaukee Catholics' dissatisfaction with Groppi, the Archbishop stated his support for open housing and Groppi's other objectives, but rejected the priest's tactics.
He later retired as Archbishop on September 17, 1977, after nineteen years of service. He died in Milwaukee, at age 86.
In recent years, allegations have surfaced that Cousins was involved in the cover-up of child sexual abuse cases in the Milwaukee diocese.
Read more about this topic: William Edward Cousins
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“The death of Irving, which at any other time would have attracted universal attention, having occurred while these things were transpiring, went almost unobserved. I shall have to read of it in the biography of authors.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.”
—James Boswell (1740–95)