WASHINGTON D.C
Catholic News Service via National Catholic Reporter
July 12, 2019.
By Rhina Guidos
A recent newspaper report details claims that senior church leaders in the United States knew as far back as 2012 about complaints against a West Virginia bishop whose spending habits and recent accusations of sexual misconduct have dogged the body of U.S. bishops at a time when they’re seeking a path toward greater accountability for themselves.
A July 3 story in The Washington Post said U.S. and Vatican officials had for years received correspondence from parishioners and others concerned with excessive spending by Bishop Michael Bransfield, the former head of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the country.
In total, the newspaper story said, Bransfield spent more than $4.6 million on the bishop’s residence, $2.4 million on travel and $350,000 on financial gifts to other churchmen, including some who later investigated him.
The local paper, the Charleston Gazette-Mail, had written stories about the complaints of lavish spending, including one published six years ago on July 7, 2013.
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