Location: 315 East Costilla in Colorado Springs

John Patrick Michael Murphy, one of the founders of the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs, will be giving a talk about "The Early Days of the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs."

Colorado native and life long Colorado Springs resident John Patrick Michael Murphy practiced as a trial lawyer for almost 30 years, retiring in 1998. Murphy hosted KVOR radio’s Murphy’s Law for ten years, a talk radio program focusing upon state-church separation, and was a prime mover in Amendment 11, which would have taxed church real estate. He is an avid hiker and an invitation only member of the century old hiking club, the Saturday Knights. John is married to Mary Kay Murphy, a Denver native, and they have three children, and three grandchildren. Currently, he devotes his time to his grandchildren and the development of property in Laramie, Wyoming where he attended law school in the 60s.

In 1993, John Patrick Michael Murphy was the first Coloradoan to speak out about Catholic Church child molestation. A childhood victim himself, he wrote an open letter to the pope, informing him that the bishops in the United States were covering up for the priests and creating new victims by quietly transferring pedophiles. The press ignored his accusations and the very pious openly called him a liar. By 2002, it was evident that he was telling the truth. Murphy believes that about 40% of the priests of his childhood were molesters and that only about 1 in 10 victims are able to make an outcry. The pope has ignored his requests both for an apology and for excommunication from the church into which he was born.

After retirement from his law practice, he wrote dozens of polemics appearing in the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs “Freethought Views” column in the Colorado Springs Independent that are now posted on our website and can also be found at Infidels.org or by googling "John Patrick Michael Murphy."