Early life Norman McFarland was born on February 21, 1922, in
Martinez, California, the third oldest son of Francis and Agnes (Kotchevar) McFarland. He attended public schools in Martinez. After deciding to become a priest, McFarland enrolled at
Saint Joseph Seminary, the minor seminary in
Mountain View, California. He continued his education at
Saint Patrick Major Seminary in Menlo Park, California, earning his
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1943.He then remained there to study
theology and sacred scriptures. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned McFarland as an associate pastor at St. Andrew's Parish in
Oakland, California. Mitty in 1948 sent him to attend the
Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned a
Doctor of Canon Law degree. McFarland in February 1998 underwent successful surgery at
Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, California, to repair an
aortic aneurysm in his abdomen. In 2003, McFarland was inducted to the Ring of Honor of
Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. In 2005, the
Orange County Register reported that McFarland and other diocesan officials had covered up the sexual abuse of minors by Reverend John E. Ruhl and Thomas Hodgman, choir director at Mater Dei High School. • In 1992, a man accused Ruhl, the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Placentia, California, of sexually abusing him as a boy in 1976 as St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in
Montebello, California. McFarland immediately removed him from the parish. Ruhl confirmed to McFarland that he had wrapped duct tape around the boy's genitals to prevent him from masterbating. McFarland did not inform the parish about this crime. He is buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Orange. == Episcopal succession ==