DENVER (CO)
Crux
June 8, 2019
By Alex Meyer
Opinions are mixed about what should happen to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston after new revelations about Michael J. Bransfield’s conduct while bishop here were made public this week.
Some called for the diocese to reform from within while others asked the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office to take further action, but all agreed: something needs to change.
On Wednesday, Archbishop William E. Lori admitted in a letter that the diocese found “credible” accounts of sexual harassment from Bransfield and that he further engaged in a pattern of “excessive and inappropriate” spending during his tenure.
Judy Jones, midwest regional leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said she wasn’t surprised by the latest developments regarding Bransfield.
“What is so sickening is how this went on for so long and people knew about it. Bransfield kept getting away with it,” Jones said. “We at SNAP applaud the brave victims for coming forward and getting (his) wrongdoings exposed and stopped.”
Jones said the problems with the diocese and the church illuminated by Bransfield’s misconduct need to be “fixed from the outside” by law enforcement.
“The church officials can’t police themselves,” she said. “They can’t fix the problems themselves. It’s not going to change.”
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