Cousins was
ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal
George Mundelein on April 27, 1927.[1]Following his ordination, Cousins served as an assistant pastor at St. Bernard Parish for five years and then at
Holy Name Cathedral Parris for a year.[2] In 1933, he was appointed director of the Archdiocesan Mission Band, a group of priests who conducted missions throughout Chicago. He became pastor of St. Columbanus Parish in 1946.
Pius XII appointed Cousins as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Peoria on May 21, 1952. He was installed at
St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria on July 2, 1952. During his tenure as bishop, Cousins established five new parishes and six new grade schools.[1]
Archbishop of Milwaukee
Cousins was appointed as the eighth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by
Pope John XXIII on December 18, 1958. From 1962 to 1965, Cousins attended the
Second Vatican Council in Rome, during which he sat on the Commission on Communications Media and on the Lay Apostolate.[3]
During the
civil rights movement, Cousins was pressured to respond to the activities of his priests, particularly Reverend
James Groppi, who led many civil rights marches and protests. In 1967, in response to many Milwaukee Catholics' dissatisfaction with Groppi, the Archbishop stated his support for
open housing and Groppi's other objectives, but rejected the priest's tactics.
Retirement and legacy
On September 17, 1977,
Pope Paul VI accepted Cousins' resignation as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. William Cousins died in Milwaukee on September 14, 1988, at age 86.
In recent years, allegations have surfaced that Cousins was involved in the cover-up of
child sexual abuse cases in the Milwaukee diocese. One notable case was that of Reverend Lawrence Murphy, whom Cousins allowed to relocate to the
Diocese of Superior in 1974 after he received reports that Murphy sexually abused children.[4]
In March 2019, the archdiocese announced that it was removing Cousins' name from its buildings and institutions.[5] On March 22, 2019, the Archbishop Cousins Catholic Center was renamed the Mary Mother of the Church Pastoral Center.[6]