Bishop William F. Murphy remembered as 'magnanimous' leader of Rockville Centre Diocese at funeral

Tributes and praise for Bishop William F. Murphy at his funeral Mass on Tuesday included words like "wise" and "magnanimous" to describe him across 15 sometimes restive years overseeing the Diocese of Rockville Centre — a man remembered as a mentor to a half-dozen future bishops and a world-wise leader for Long Island Roman Catholics.

Some 150 priests, 30 bishops and hundreds of faithful gathered in St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre to bid farewell to Murphy, who led one of the largest Catholic dioceses in the nation amid the turmoil of a clergy sex abuse scandal he contended made the church stronger by instituting reforms.

Murphy, who died March 26 at age 85, was a "wise, insightful and magnanimous Successor of the Apostles," Bishop John Barres, who now leads the diocese, told the congregation.

It was the first funeral Mass of a bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in nearly a quarter-century.

Church leaders praised Murphy for his famous Irish charm, his expertise in Vatican diplomacy, his facility with languages — Italian, French and Spanish — and his ecumenical and interfaith work.

Global experience

They also noted his role on the international stage: He served as a member of three U.S. presidential delegations to Haiti in 1987, 1990 and 1991, and accompanied Pope John Paul II on a historic visit to Cuba in 1998.

"There was no one like him in the sense of serving the church with a world global perspective," the Rev. Michael Duffy, rector of the cathedral, told Newsday. "He was very active in peace and justice around the world. He was particularly concerned for his Jewish brothers and sisters."

"People would call him for advice from all over the world about in particular interreligious dialogue, and justice and peace issues," said Duffy, who, along with Murphy, lived in the cathedral rectory for several years.

Bishop Robert Brennan, who now leads the Diocese of Brooklyn but served under Murphy in Rockville Centre, recalled in his homily how Murphy and other priests met with both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the head of the Palestinian National Authority during a trip to the Middle East in 2005.

That type of experience and Murphy's service on the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace "gave him that eye for the needs, the sufferings of people around the world," Brennan said.

An inspiring mentor

Besides Brennan, other priests mentored by Murphy in Rockville Centre went on to become archbishops of Boston and Philadelphia, as well as bishops of Manchester, New Hampshire; Providence, Rhode Island; and Charleston, South Carolina.

"For a while there, the Number One export of Rockville Centre were bishops," Duffy said. "I think he had a particular impact on the hierarchy of the United States, because he saw men of particular talent, and was able to, through whatever influence he had, elevate men of talent."

A theological conservative who fiercely defended the church, Murphy retired in 2016 as head of the Rockville Centre diocese, which at the time had well over 1.5 million baptized Catholics.

He had a mixed legacy on Long Island. He arrived six days after the September 2001 terrorist attacks and had to minister to a diocese in shock.

Four months later, The Boston Globe began an investigative series detailing a wide-ranging, decades-long clergy sex abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston, where Murphy had served as vicar general — the No. 2 post — under Cardinal Bernard Law.

Before long, allegations began to emerge in dioceses around the country, including on Long Island.

Murphy soon found himself forced to answer for his own actions alleged in one clergy sex abuse scandal while steering Long Island Catholics through another as the fourth bishop of the diocese since its founding in 1957.

Tainted by scandal

Murphy’s allies said he did the best he could to address allegations of abuse that happened before his arrival on Long Island.

His detractors said he failed to move aggressively to address the abuse scandal by, for instance, delaying release of a list of credibly accused clergy. By October 2021, the Diocese of Rockville Centre filed for bankruptcy. It led to a $323 million settlement with about 600 survivors in December 2024.

"The failure to disclose the full story and the shambles of the eventual reckoning are Murphy’s legacy on Long Island," said Terence McKiernan, president of Bishop Accountability, a nonprofit group that tracked the church abuse scandal nationwide.

Murphy contended he helped usher in reforms, though he later acknowledged he wished he had reached out more to groups of dissident Catholic groups such as Voice of the Faithful.

He also said he believed the Catholic Church came out of the scandal stronger after instituting stringent protections that he asserted made the church one of the safest institutions in the country.