Emmett McLoughlin

American priest and author (1907–1970)

Emmett McLoughlin (born John Patrick McLoughlin; February 3, 1907 – October 9, 1970) was a former Catholic priest of the Franciscan order who became known in the 1930s as an advocate for low income housing in Phoenix, Arizona. He left the priesthood in 1948 in order to remain superintendent of St Monica's (later Phoenix Memorial) Hospital and wrote a number of books, including his autobiography People's Padre. Time magazine called him "America's best known ex priest". eventually becoming Phoenix Memorial Hospital. In People's Padre, McLoughlin says that some priests in the area objected to the clinic treating venereal disease. McLoughlin also encouraged workers to smuggle scorpion antivenom from Mexico. McLoughlin's Franciscan superiors charged him with neglect of his priestly duties and ordered him to resign as superintendent of the hospital. He had the support of its board of directors, many of whom were Catholic. He has been criticized in Catholic circles for not following the vow of obedience to the Church that he had taken as a Franciscan. McLoughlin criticized the Church for requiring young men to take such a vow, often without having experience of life outside school and seminary. He also criticized the Catholic parochial school system, and alleged that a Catholic plot had existed to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, criticisms which fed anti Catholicism in America in the 1950s and 1960s. McLoughlin also joined Freemasonry. In early 1970, Mcloughlin was still administrator of Phoenix Memorial. He later moved to Oklahoma, where he died on October 9, 1970. He is buried in Berwyn Cemetery in Gene Autry.

In August 1949, McLoughlin married Mary Davis. He met her when she came to work at Phoenix Memorial Hospital working in the Medical Records Department. He noted in his 1954 book People's Padre that he did not lose faith in God after leaving the priesthood, but found he read more of the Bible and religious periodicals.

The city of Phoenix named the Emmett McLoughlin Community Training & Education Center in his honor.

People's Padre: an Autobiography (Boston : Beacon Press, 1954). American Culture and Catholic Schools (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1960). Crime and Immorality in the Catholic Church (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1962). An Inquiry in the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1963). Letters to an ex priest (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1965). Famous Ex Priests (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1968).