Fr. William C. Graham

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Pastor of St. Michael’s church in Duluth MN when placed on leave 5/23/2016 after he was accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy, age 15-16, in 1977-1978. The boy was a student at Cathedral High School, where Graham worked variously as principal, chaplain, religious studies department head, and teacher. Per the suit, the accuser’s father had notified the Duluth diocese of the alleged abuse in 2010. Graham denied the allegation and filed suit in 7/2016 against his accuser. The Diocese of Duluth announced in 8/2018 that the allegations against Graham were credible. Jury trial for Graham’s suit against his accuser 8/21/2018. The jury found that the accuser interfered with Graham’s contractual duties when he filed his claim in 5/2016 but did not intentionally inflict distress on him. The accuser was ordered to pay Graham $13,500 in damages. On 8/26/19, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed. Graham was added to the Diocese of Duluth’s list of credibly accused 11/26/19. Added to the Diocese of Joliet’s list 12/13/19 as “permanently removed”; Joliet listed him as working 2000-2005 at Lewis University in Romeoville in the Joliet diocese. In 2021, the Diocese of Duluth reportedly received an affidavit by a second man alleging abuse by Graham as a child. Graham was included on the Chicago archdiocese’s list of credibly accused 10/14/22. In the 2004 Official Catholic Directory, Graham had been listed by the Duluth diocese as on duty outside the diocese, with an address of 5119 N. Kenmore St. in Chicago, but with no ministry in Chicago specified. Included in the 5/23/23 IL Attorney General’s Report.

In 3/2024 the Vatican’s Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith found the evidence against Graham insufficient. The Diocese of Duluth removed his name from its list of accused 3/28/24. The Diocese of Joliet removed his name from its list of accused on 5/9/24. Graham was returned to St. Michael church in Duluth 5/17/2024. Retired 6/30/2024. The Archdiocese of Chicago removed his name from its list 9/20/24. In late 2024, the IL Attorney General updated the online version of his Report to reflect: the Vatican decision to reinstate Graham; the resulting removal of his name from the Duluth, Joliet, and Chicago lists; his return to ministry; and his retirement. The IL AG chose not to remove Graham from its Report “because the standard used by the Vatican (‘there does not exist moral certitude of his culpability’) is inconsistent with the standards used by the dioceses when substantiating the claim against Graham (‘credible,’ ‘reasonable to suspect,’ ‘more likely than not’).”

The assignment history for Graham, included by the Duluth diocese in its 11/26/19 list of accused, is supplemented by the diocese’s announcement of Graham’s retirement, which states that he “served for over a decade as Professor and Director of the Catholic Studies Program in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, from 2004-2013.” The Official Catholic Directory does not index him in those years, except in 2012 and 2013, when he is indexed and listed as an instructor at St. Scholastica. In addition to the 2000-2005 visiting professorship at Lewis University, noted in the Joliet diocese 12/13/19 list, columns by Graham in the Duluth News Tribune identify him as a visiting professor in 2014 at St. John’s University in Collegeville MN in the St. Cloud diocese, after he had been a scholar in residence there. The Official Catholic Directories for the late 1990s locate Graham in residence at Manhattan’s All Saints church in the New York archdiocese. In 1997, an article in the Star-Ledger identifies him as associate professor of religious studies and director of the Caldwell Pastoral Ministry Institute, established in 1996 at Caldwell College in the Newark archdiocese.