Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro is a Roman Catholic diocese in Kentucky founded on December 9, 1937. The diocese is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Louisville. The diocese spans 32 counties of Western Kentucky and includes 78 parishes and two Newman Centers.
The current bishop, William Medley, was the pastor of Saint Bernadette Parish of the Archdiocese of Louisville prior to his consecration which took place February 10, 2010.
The original cathedral for the diocese was to be established in Henderson, Kentucky at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, but was changed to the city of Owensboro. The diocese's cathedral is named after St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian church.

Sexual abuse

In April 2019, the Diocese of Owensboro released a list of 15 priests who were accused of sexually abusing children while serving in the diocese. Two of these priests, Joseph J. Pilger and Louis Francis Piskula, were convicted, with Pilger receiving a five-year probation sentence in 1995 and Piskula receiving a five-year prison sentence in 2014. Piskula later died in prison in 2018. Two other credibly accused priests, Richard M. Powers and Joseph Robert "Bob" Willet, were forced to pay settlements in 1999. Pilger also was ordered to pay a $5.2M settlement to at least 27 accusers in 2003, the same year he was murdered.
In 2018, the diocese removed Gerald Baker from active ministry in the diocese after determining that sexual abuse accusations against him were credible. In March 2019, the diocese temporarily suspended Joseph Edward "Ed" Bradley after allegations of sexual abuse of a minor were made. In May 2019, the diocese recommended that Bradley be permanently removed from public service. As of October 2019, the Vatican has not ruled on the recommendation.

Bishops

The list of bishops and their years of service:
  1. Francis Ridgley Cotton
  2. Henry Joseph Soenneker
  3. John Jeremiah McRaith
  4. William Francis Medley

    High schools and university