DULUTH — The Rev. William C. Graham, removed from active priest duties for nearly eight years amid allegations of sexual misconduct, marked his Vatican-approved return to St. Michael’s Catholic Church in mid-May with a media conference backed by a dozen supporters and a dry stone baptismal fountain.
He used biblical terms to describe the Catholic church discipline department’s finding that there wasn’t sufficient evidence that he was guilty of the allegations.
“Light triumphing over darkness,” Graham called it.
Now, weeks after his hard-fought return, Graham will retire June 30. He said Bishop Daniel Felton gave him the option to transfer to the Cass Lake area, appeal the transfer or retire. Graham did not say mass on Sunday morning at his home church.
A letter outlining a restructuring within Duluth’s east side churches recently went out from Felton to affected pastors.
“Subsequently to that communication, this week Father Graham informed his parish leadership and Bishop Felton that he plans to retire on June 30, 2024, and Bishop Felton accepted that decision,” diocese spokesman Kyle Eller said.
T.J. Davis is glad to see the priest gone again. It was Davis’ accusations of “unpermitted sexual conduct” that led to the priest’s suspension from daily duties in 2016.
“I’m numb,” he said of Graham’s retirement. “After seven and a half years of fighting to get your job back, two weeks in you resign?”