Assignment Record– Rev. William H. Morgan

Summary of Case: Morgan admitted in 1992 to having molested two young cousins decades earlier. A nephew accused him in a 2001 lawsuit of having molested him in the 1950s and 1960s, when the nephew was ages 3-12. Morgan stepped down as a parish pastor in 1993, per recommendation of the archdiocesan review board. He died in 1999.

Born: 1919
Ordained: 1950
Died: February 8, 1999

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

5/15/50

Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).

2/22/67 St. John the Evangelist

Canton

• Accused in a 2001 lawsuit of having molested his nephew when the nephew was ages 3-12, and Morgan was assigned to St. John's. (Boston Herald
February 5, 2001)

• Morgan admitted in 1992 that he had molested two young cousins about 30 years earlier. (Boston Herald
February 5, 2001)

MA 3/3, 2/3, 2/4 Parish had a grade school with 172-404 boys and 169-390 girls, and a high school until 1955 with 4-2 boys and 39-16 girls.
2/23/67 6/11/68 St. Paul's Hingham MA 2/3 Parish had a school with 158 boys and 160 girls.

6/12/68

Humberto Sousa Medeiros followed Cushing as archbishop (1970-1983).

11/23/75 Cathedral of the Holy Cross Boston MA 12/14, 10/11, 7/9, 8/11, 8/14 The Cathedral had a school with 135-125 boys and 158-109 girls.
6/12/68 11/23/75 Cursillo/Christian Family Movement Boston MA Director This assignment is per the archdiocese's assignment history for Morgan.
9/15/73 3/03/75 Holy Trinity (German) Boston MA 1/3  
3/04/75 4/06/81 St. Francis of Assisi Medford MA 1/6, 1/4, 1/5, 1/3 Parish had a school with 456-285 students.

4/07/81

Bernard Francis Law replaced Medeiros (1984-2002).

11/03/86 St. John the Evangelist Winthrop MA 1/3, 1/4 Parish had a school with 287-220 students.
11/04/86 6/30/93 St. Thomas More

Braintree

 

 MA 1/2, 1/1 In 1992 the archdiocese received an anonymous letter about Morgan that led to an investigation by the archdiocese. The review board recommended that Morgan resign as pastor in March 1993. (Boston Herald
February 5, 2001)
7/01/93 2/08/99 Retired Gloucester MA   The address listed for Morgan in the 1994-1997 Directories was 51 Atlantic Ave., Gloucester, MA. For a few years before his death he lived at Regina Cleri, which was a home for retired priests in Boston, near Mass. General Hospital. He volunteered in local parishes and taught on Cursillo weekends. (Boston Globe
February 14, 1999)

Morgan died February 8, 1999.


Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1951-2000); Archdiocese of Boston, Categories of Accused Priests

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Morgan's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on Sept. 8, 2010.