KANSAS CITY (MO)
National CAtholic Reporter
July 19, 2019
By Peter Feuerherd
A lay group that urged West Virginia Catholics to withhold support for their diocese claimed victory after Archbishop William Lori announced July 17 that the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston will undergo an independent financial audit.
“I clearly understand that the Church has a long way to go to regain your confidence and trust,” Lori, archbishop of Baltimore who is also serving as administrator for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, wrote to West Virginia’s Catholics. Lori disclosed that the diocese would engage the services of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP for a full audit of its finances.
Lay Catholic Voices for Change sent Lori a July 9 letter signed by more than 800 West Virginia Catholics urging the archbishop to institute an audit. The group had urged Catholics not to donate to diocesan causes this weekend. It said it is now calling off its “Not a Dime for the Diocese” campaign.
“This is an important first step in a long process of reform,” said Charles DiSalvo, a member of the group’s Steering Committee. “It is a basic structural change that will help bring about a healthier distribution of power between the hierarchy and West Virginia Catholics. Up to now, the diocese has kept the laity in the dark regarding its actual income and expenditures. With this increased measure of information, West Virginia Catholics will be that much more empowered to see that the funds they entrust to the diocese are spent properly.”
The diocese, which covers the entire state, has been rocked by a scandal involving Bishop Michael Bransfield, who retired in 2018. Bransfield was accused of reckless spending and sexually harassing priests and seminarians, charges deemed credible in a report authorized by Lori released in June.
A July 3 story in The Washington Post said U.S. and Vatican officials had for years received complaints from those concerned by Bransfield’s spending.
Media accounts indicated that Bransfield spent more than $4.6 million on his residence, $2.4 million on travel and $350,000 on financial gifts to other church leaders, some of whom, including Lori, later investigated him.
Those expenses included a thousand dollars a month in liquor and daily fresh flowers delivered to the diocesan office, costing up to $182,000 over 13 years, and $350,000 in gifts to priests, bishops and cardinals spread around the country and at the Vatican. Among those who received gifts was Lori.
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