Fraud suit filed against Milwaukee archdiocese; priest molested as many as 200 deaf students
August 14, 2009
A Phoenix man who alleges abuse by the late Father Lawrence Murphy has filed a fraud suit against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. According to a 1993 social worker’s report, the priest may have molested as many as 200 students at a school for the deaf between 1950 and 1974.
At the time of Father Murphy’s death in 1998, then-Archbishop Rembert Weakland wrote in a letter that “so far, we have succeeded in preserving his reputation, and I hope we are able to do so in the future.” Three archbishops reportedly knew of his abuse but allowed him to continue in ministry into the 1990s.
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Further information:
- Former deaf-school student sues archdiocese (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
- Archbishop Weakland letter on notorious abuser: ‘So far we have succeeded in preserving his reputation’ (CWN, May 20)
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