ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
August 26, 2019
A new bishop has been installed in West Virginia’s Catholic diocese. We call on him to make the protection of children and prevention of abuse his number one priority now that he is officially at the helm.
Bishop Mark Brennan was installed as the head of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston last week. Now that he is formally on the job, we believe his first priority should be clear and simple: to protect the vulnerable. In order to demonstrate his commitment to this priority, we call on him to take two immediate steps.
First, to use his power and influence to do everything he can to insure that his predecessor, who has been accused of sexual abuse and harassment, lives in an independent, professionally-run, remote and secure treatment center. This will help ensure that former Bishop Michael Bransfield is monitored and kept away from vulnerable members of the community. For the past year, to our knowledge, Bishop Bransfield has been free of any supervision.
If an even higher-ranking abuser, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, can be sent far away from his former diocese to a remote friary in rural Kansas, then so too can Bishop Bransfield.
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