21. Bishop William Murphy

Bishop Murphy continues to face tests as the faithful leader of the reported 1.4 million Catholics residing within the Diocese of Rockville Centre. He’s said that closing a half dozen LI parochial schools last year and ordering another five to work together to find efficiencies will stave off future closures and keep the system lean and mean. He stood his ground when national LGBT advocacy groups petitioned him to reinstate a gay volunteer who was dismissed for publicly opposing church teachings by marrying another man. Bishop Murphy never wavers in his management style for Church affairs and doesn’t send mixed messages, he’s true to his beliefs, whether we agree or not.