WHEELING (WV)
The Intelligencer
June 7, 2019
Archbishop William Lori on Friday said he made a mistake in asking that his name and those of 10 other powerful Catholic bishops and priests who received financial gifts from former Wheeling-Charleston Diocese bishop Michael Bransfield be omitted from a preliminary report.
In an 8-minute video posted by the Diocese, Lori, who serves as apostolic administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, addressed the matter after a Washington Post report revealed that Bransfield gave more than $350,000 in personal gifts to other priests — including Lori — and then had his compensation from the Diocese increased to cover the costs of the gifts.
The preliminary report said the personal gifts from Bransfield were part of a larger pattern of “excessive and inappropriate spending” that took place at the Diocese during his 13 years as bishop. Some examples include $2.4 million in travel by Bransfield — much of it personal travel — along with $4.6 million in renovations to his private residence — a home that soon will go up for sale, Lori said earlier this week.
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