Father Joseph Hopkins was ordained on June 11, 1936. In July 1995, a man reported Hopkins sexually abused him in 1948 when he was an 8th grader and Hopkins was an Assistant Pastor at St. Cecilia Church in Baltimore. The abuse involved caressing, masturbating, and fondling over several months. As a result, the victim suffered from depression, and although the Archdiocese was informed, they did not contact a potential second victim.
In 1950, Hopkins requested to visit Baltimore but was advised not to by the Chancellor, as his case was still active in the courts. Hopkins was warned to keep his whereabouts a secret, or the archbishop would relocate him. In 2002, Cardinal Keeler wrote a letter to the survivor, apologizing for his suffering and for the survivor’s dissatisfaction with the response he received from the Archdiocese in 1995. Joseph Hopkins died on August 19, 1961.
| Date | Position (If Available) | Church/Organization | Location |
| 1936-1943 | Assistant Pastor | St. Ambrose | Baltimore, MD |
| 1943-1949 | Assistant Pastor | St. Cecilia | Baltimore, MD |
| 1949-1961 | — | St. Peters | Wheeling, WV |
| 1949-1961 | — | St. Xavier | Moundsville, WV |
