Rev. David M. MacPherson

Summary of Case: In 2003 two women, who were sisters, settled claims with the Covington diocese over allegations that MacPherson molested them in the 1960s at St. Patrick's in Maysville. He left active ministry in 1978 and was laicized in 1984. His name was included on the diocese's July 2020 list of those with substantiated allegations.


Ordained: 1967
Laicized: January 20, 1984

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1967

Covington bishop was Richard Henry Ackerman, C.S.Sp. (1960-1978)

1970 St. Patrick's

Maysville

• Two women, who were sisters, accused MacPherson in 2003 of having sexually abused them when they were children at St. Patrick's. (Cincinnati Enquirer
October 14, 2003)

KY

3/3

high school faculty member

St. Patrick's had a grade school with 133-102 boys and 99-80 girls, and a high school with 54-63 boys and 61-53 girls.

MacPherson is not indexed in the 1967 or 1968 Directories, but he is listed as at St. Patrick's in the Directories' Covington diocesan pages.

1970 1971 Mother of God Covington KY

2/2

In residence.

MacPherson is not indexed in the 1971 Directory, but he is listed as at Mother of God's in the Directory's diocesan pages.
1970    Covington Catholic High School  Covington  KY  faculty  
1971 1973         MacPherson is not indexed in the 1972 or 1973 Directories. Per the diocese on its list in 2020, Macpherson was on a leave of absence during this time.
1975    Thomas More College  Crestview Hills  KY  Director of Communication & Public Affairs   
1972 1978 Madonna Manor Villa Hills KY Chaplain

Madonna Manor was a nursing home on the property of the Benedictine sisters' St. Walburg Monastery. Also on the property were a Montessori preschool and Villa Madonna Academy, which was an all girls' grade school and high school.

Macpherson's name was included on the diocese's list of those with substantiated allegations in 2020. It notes that he left active ministry in 1978 and was laicized in 1984. (Diocese of Covington, July 2020)  


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1968-1978)

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.

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 MacPherson's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation 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 March 10, 2021.