Born in Binghamton, New York on October 4, 1897 he was the son of Walter and Mary Butler Gorman. From 1911 to 1915 he attended Binghamton Central High School and St. Patrick High School. He professed his Passionist vows in Pittsburgh on October 7, 1917. From 1917 to 1924 he studied at various Passionist monasteries and was ordained a priest in West Hoboken, New Jersey by Bishop Paul Nussbaum on June 24, 1924. In 1925 he went to The Catholic University of America to study Scripture. He received an S.T.L. From 1925 to 1928 he completed his Scripture studies at the L’Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem. From 1928 to 1935 he taught Scripture at the Passionist Seminaries. From 1935 to 1942 he was Assistant Editor of Sign Magazine. From 1942 to 1966 he was Managing Editor of Sign Magazine. From 1966 to 1972 he retired and studied and wrote books on Sacred Scripture. He authored two books The Last Hours of Jesus and The Trial of Christ-Reappraised. In August 1972 he was at the St. Mary’s Villa in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania recovering from a stroke. In October of 1972 he died from pneumonia in Scranton.
In 1950 he was the recipient of the Gold Medal from the Freedom Foundation in New York City for Speaking out for Freedom. Under his leadership Sign was a major Catholic periodical in the United States.