Rev. Dennis P. Murphy

Summary of Case: Murphy was placed on leave in 2004 due to complaints about his interactions with teenagers. A Richmond VA diocesan priest, Murphy also worked in the dioceses of Providence RI, Bridgeport CT, and Boston MA.

Ordained: 1974

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1974

Richmond bishop was Walter Francis Sullivan (1974-2003)

1976 Our Lady of Nazareth Roanoke VA 2/2  
1976 1977 St. James Hopewell VA 2/2 Parish had a school with 158 students.
1976 1977 St. Anne's   VA   This was a mission of St. James in Hopewell.
1976 1978 Chancery Position   VA Regional Covenor  
1977 1979 St. John's Dinwiddie VA 1/1  
1979 1985 St. Thomas More Lynchburg VA 1/1  
1985 1986 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Salem VA 2/2  
    V.A. Hospital Salem VA chaplain This assignment is per news reports.
1986 1988 St. Ann's Colonial Heights VA 1/1  

1988

Bridgeport bishop was Edward Michael Egan (1988-2000)

1992 Yale University New Haven CT campus minister Murphy is not indexed in the 1989 or 1990 Directories. The 1991 and 1992 Directories index him as on Special Assignment. Per news reports he spent four years at Yale prior to returning to VA in 1992. (Richmond Times Dispatch
September 5, 2002)
1992 1995 St. Ann's Ashland VA 1/2  
1992   Randolph-Macon College Ashland VA campus minister This assignment is per news reports.
    Hollins University Roanoke VA campus minister This assignment is per news reports.
    Roanoke College Salem VA campus minister This assignment is per news reports.

1995

Providence bishop was Louis Edward Gelineau (1971-1997), followed by Robert Edward Mulvee (1997-2005)

 2002 V.A. Hospital Providence RI chaplain  

1996

Boston archbishop was Bernard Francis Law (1984-2002)

1997 St. Cecilia Boston MA   This assignment acknowledged in Jan. 2010 by the archdiocese. (The Pilot
January 29, 2010)
1997 1998 Harvard Divinity School Cambridge MA Merrill Fellow (Daily News Tribune
January 27, 2010) 		 
1998 2002 St. John Vianney Cumberland RI   Murphy sometimes filled in at this parish. (Richmond Times Dispatch
September 5, 2002)

2002

Succeeding Sullivan as Richmond bishop was Francis Xavier DiLorenzo (2004- )

2004 Church of the Holy Comforter

Charlottesville

• Murphy was removed from this parish in April 2004 due to complaints about his interactions with teenagers. (Associated Press State & Local Wire
April 8, 2004)

VA 1/1

Parish had a religious education program with 121-92 students.

Murphy was assigned to this parish after its previous pastor, Rev. Julian Goodman, was removed due to his having sexually abused a boy in the 1970s. (Richmond Times Dispatch
September 4, 2002)

2004 2009 "Retired"        


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1975-2009)

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 Murphy'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 July 25, 2010