Rev. Peter B. Murphy

Assignment History– Rev. Peter B. Murphy

Summary of Case: Peter B. Murphy was ordained for the Sioux City IA diocese in 1955. Murphy moved frequently, assisting in parishes in towns which included Emmetsburg, Fort Dodge, Whittemore and Sioux City before going on leave of absence1960-63. He was assigned to a Denison parish in 1963-64, then was on leave thereafter until his death in 1980 in Jemez Springs, NM. During his "leave" he did fill-in assistant work in parishes. In March 2016 he was named publicly as having sexually abused and raped a 12-year-old Sioux City altar boy during 1959-60.

Born: January 13, 1931
Ordained: June 4, 1955
Died: November 8, 1980

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1955 Sioux City bishop was Joseph Maximilian Mueller (1948-1970).		St. Mary's	Danbury	IA	temporary assistant
1955	1956	Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Emmetsburg	IA	2/2	Assumption of the BVM had a school with 195 students.
1955	1956	Emmetsburg Catholic High School	Emmetsburg	IA	faculty
1956	1960	Sacred Heart	Fort Dodge	IA	2/2	Sacred Heart had a school with 229-239 students.
1960	1960	St. Michael's	Whittemore	IA	2/2 temporary assistant	St. Michael's had a school with 216 students.
1960	1960	Blessed Sacrament	Sioux City • Murphy was accused publicly in March 2016 of having sexually abused a boy in 1959 and 1960.	IA	temporary assistant
1960	1963	Absent on Leave				Although the 1961-63 Directories index Murphy as Absent on Leave, other sources show he assisted temporarily at parishes during that time.
1961	1961	St. Joseph's/Kossuth County	St. Joseph	IA	locum tenens
1961	1961	St. Mary's	Danbury	IA	temporary assistant
1963	1964	St. Rose of Lima	Denison	IA	2/2 temporary assistant	St. Rose's had a school with 246 students.
1973	1973	Sacred Heart	Spencer	IA	temporary assistant
8/8/73		Immaculate Conception	Cherokee	IA	assistant
1964 Mueller was succeeded as Sioux City bishop by Frank Henry Greteman (1970-1983).	1980	Absent on Leave				Murphy died November 8, 1980 in Jemez Springs NM. His Necrology entry in the 1981 Directory shows his status as having been "Retired," although he was consistently listed since 1964 as "Absent on Leave."

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.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1956-1981).

• St. Joe News, The Algona Uppder Des Moines, March 16, 1961
• Ledyard to Have New Pastor at Sacred Heart, Kossuth County Advance, July 23, 1973
• Living Stones: Priests in the Sioux City Diocese 1856-2004, by R. Mark Duchaine, pp 182-183
• Diocese Releases Data on Sexual Abuse Issue, USCCB, January 6, 2004
• Support Group for People Abused by Clergy Members, KTIV, March 30, 2016
• Alleged Abuse Victim Speaks out against Former Sioux City Priest, By Tommie Clark, KTIV, June 3, 2016
• Sioux City Diocese asks for information on children victimized by deceased priest, By Ian Richardson, Sioux City Journal, July 3, 2016

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 the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations 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 11, 2016.