NEW YORK (NY)
Daily News
July 20, 2019
By Jami Ganz
The West Virginia attorney general is adamant that the Catholic church stop “covering up” allegations of sexual harassment brought against a former bishop.
Patrick Morrisey ordered the church Friday to “come clean” with information it has regarding sexual harassment allegations against former bishop Michael Bransfield of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, USA Today reports.
The declaration followed Pope Francis’ decision earlier that day to ban Bransfield from both the public ministry and living in a West Virginia diocese. The pope said Bransfield “has the obligation to make personal amends for some of the arm he caused.”
On Facebook, Morrisey said this was “only one step” in the right direction and went on to slam the diocese for “decades of covering up and concealing the behavior of priests as it relates to sexual abuse.”
“It is time for the Diocese to come clean with what it knows and release the Bransfield report and any other relevant materials,” he wrote. “The public shouldn’t have to wait any longer for transparency.”
In March, Morrisey filed a suit against both Bransfield and the diocese claiming it knew it was employing pedophiles and did not conduct proper background checks for employees working at schools and camps. In an amendment, he also alleged the diocese knew of child sex abuse by a teacher in 2006 and decided against publicly disclosing it.
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