Michael J. Bransfield

On April 2012, the Associated Press reported that Bransfield had been accused of sexual abuse of a boy in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Accusations against Bransfield, who had been ordained a priest in the archdiocese, were raised in testimony by a witness at the trial of two Philadelphia priests, one charged with attempted rape and the other with failing to report sexual abuse. Bransfield was not charged with a crime, and denied ever sexually abusing anyone.[15][16]

When he turned 75 in September 2018, Bransfield submitted his resignation as required by canon law. His resignation was immediately accepted by Pope Francis, who named Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore as apostolic administrator of the diocese,[17][18][19] and directed Lori to conduct an investigation into allegations that Bransfield sexually harassed adults.[1][20][18]

A 60-page report by five lay investigators overseen by Lori was submitted to the Vatican in 2019.[3] A copy of the final report was obtained by the Washington Post, which reported on the findings in June 2019,[3] and published the full report in December 2019.[23][24] Lori released a letter to the priests and laity of the diocese on the same day the June 2019 Post article summarizing the conclusions of the investigation was published.[2]

The investigative team commissioned by the church determined that the allegations that Bransfield had sexually harassed adults were "credible" and stated: "The team uncovered a consistent pattern of sexual innuendo, and overt suggestive comments and actions toward those over whom the former bishop exercised authority,"[2] specifically seminarians and young priests.[3] According to a diocesan spokesman, the investigation "found that no criminal activity was undertaken", and the report was not submitted to law enforcement.[25] Lori stated that "the investigation found no conclusive evidence of sexual misconduct with minors by the former bishop during its investigation."[2]The Washington Post reported the opposite conclusion, stating that the report reads: “We did not find conclusive evidence that Bishop Bransfield committed sexual misconduct with minors; however, there is significant reason for concern that this occurred,” the report stated, citing “several troubling incidents” involving altar servers.[3]

As summarized in the Washington Post, the report gave the accounts of nine men in the diocese who accused Bransfield "of touching or groping them, kissing or exposing himself to them or of commenting on their bodies."[3] The report stated that the diocese's judicial vicar had attempted to ensure that altar servers were not left alone with Bransfield.[3] The report did not name the men who complained about Bransfield's conduct;[3] Lori stated that the names and underlying details were withheld "due to privacy concerns and at the request of those who alleged harassment by Bishop Bransfield."[2] The report also stated that similar complaints were raised against Bransfield when he was a Catholic high school teacher and rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception from 1990 to 2005; that the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese's vicar for clergy reported that at least six clerical assistants to Bransfield "were broken by" their experiences working under him; and that as bishop, Bransfield abused alcohol and prescription drugs, including oxycodone, and that this "likely contributed to his harassing and abusive behavior."[3] In interview with investigators, Bransfield denied engaging in sexual misconduct.[3]

The 2019 investigation into Bransfield also found that over a ten-year period, Bransfield gave a total of $350,000 in cash gifts to other Catholic clerics, "including young priests he is accused of mistreating and more than a dozen cardinals in the United States and at the Vatican."[3] Bransfield wrote the checks from his personal account, and the diocese reimbursed him for the value of the gifts.[3] The gifts came in the form of at least 565 checks made out to the clerics by name.[3]

The Lori report also found that during his 13-year tenure as bishop, Bransfield spent $2.4 million in diocesan funds on travel, including a substantial amount on personal travel. The report also found that Bransfield, along with a number of subordinates, spent an average of almost $1,000 per month on alcohol; that fresh flowers were delivered daily to the chancery while Bransfield was present, at a total cost of $182,000; and that the diocese "paid $4.6 million to renovate Bransfield's church residence after a fire damaged a single bathroom."[3] Bransfield also used church funds for a personal chef and chauffeur.[21] The report found that the diocese financial board was "extremely passive" and lacked adequate financial controls, with "an almost complete absence of any meaningful review of financial decisions."[3][lower-alpha 1] The investigators concluded that "Bishop Bransfield adopted an extravagant and lavish lifestyle that was in stark contrast to the faithful he served and was for his own personal benefit."[3] Bransfield denies the findings of the report, but provided no details.[3] In a July 2019 interview, Bransfield argued that his financial decisions as bishop were justified and approved by diocesan financial officials.[21]

Beginning in 2012, multiple parishioners in Bransfield's diocese made complaints to church authorities in the U.S. and Vatican that Bransfield was engaged in financial abuses, but these complaints were not acted upon.[21] Lori; Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, then the papal nuncio (ambassador) to the United States; Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, then the leader of the Apostolic Signatura at the Vatican; and Archbishop Peter Bryan Wells, an official at the Vatican Secretariat of State, all received these complaints.[21] Viganò, Burke, Wells, and Lori were also among the many recipients of cash gifts from Bransfield during his tenure.[21] Between 2005 and 2018 Bransfield had paid $350,000 to clergy in the U.S. and in the Vatican in what an aide described as an effort to "purchase influence".[27][28] In July 2019, after the Washington Post reported on the early warnings, "Wells, Burke and Lori said the gifts did not influence how they responded to parishioners' complaints," while "Viganò said he did not recall receiving complaints and did not give Bransfield favorable treatment" and said that he had donated the funds to charity shortly after the gift was made.[21]

The report of the investigative team "recommended Bransfield be stripped of powers as bishop, removed from ministry and forced to pay restitution" and also recommended that Bransfield's three top aides be removed from office.[2]

In March 2019, following the delivery of the investigators' report, Lori removed Bransfield from "any priestly or episcopal ministry either within the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston or within the Archdiocese of Baltimore" pending review of the report by the Holy See.[1][29] In June 2019, Bransfield's three former top aides resigned.[30]

In July 2019, Pope Francis imposed restrictions on Bransfield by banning him from living in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and forbidding him from presiding over or participating "in any public celebration of the Liturgy."[4] Though Bransfield was not laicized, these measures permanently excluded him from engaging in any form of public ministry in the Catholic church.[5] Francis also directed Bransfield's eventual successor as bishop to determine how Bransfield should be directed to "make personal amends" for his actions.[31] Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Mark E. Brennan was appointed to succeed Bransfield as Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston in late July 2019,[32] and was installed the next month.[33]

In November 2019, Bishop Brennan ordered Bransfield to pay restitution to the diocese in the amount of $792,638 (and $110,000 to the IRS) and to issue an apology "for the severe emotional and spiritual harm his actions caused" to his victims and to the diocese.[31] Brennan also revoked certain retirement benefits of Bransfield and barred him from being buried in the diocesan cemetery.[31] The directive is believed to be a rare, perhaps unprecedented, example of a bishop being ordered to pay restitution.[31] Brennan indicated in early August 2020 that Bransfield had gone incommunicado and failed to apologize or respond to his directive to make restitution to victims and the diocese.[34] Later in August 2020, the Vatican approved a watered-down restitution package; Bransfield wrote a letter of apology that took no direct responsibility (apologizing for "any scandal or wonderment caused by words or actions attributed to me during my tenure as Bishop") and agreed to pay $441,000 in restitution to the diocese, although he maintained "I believed that such reimbursements to me were proper."[35][36] Under the agreement approved by the Vatican[35]—specifically, the Conference of Bishops[37]–Bransfield will still receive a monthly stipend from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and have his health insurance coverage paid for by the church.[35][36] Bransfield also retained his title.[37] Many West Virginia parishioners were critical of Bransfield's lack of remorse and his apology letter saying he believed he did nothing wrong.[37]

The diocese said it would reimburse the costs of mental health assistance for "known victims" of Bransfield. Lori, as apostolic administrator, also directed the creation of a "third-party reporting system" for allegations against bishops of the diocese.[2]

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) called for a law enforcement investigation[2] and criticized the church discipline imposed against Bransfield by Brennan as insufficient because they suggested "that Bransfield alone should make reparations."[31] SNAP called for consequences for Church officials who concealed, or failed to address, Bransfield's conduct.[31]

In March 2019, a former personal altar boy for Bransfield sued the Wheeling-Charleston Catholic Diocese, alleging that Bransfield had sexually harassed him for years and sexually assaulted him in 2014. The suit was settled on confidential terms in August 2019.[38]

Also in March 2019 Attorney General Morrisey filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of the State of West Virginia against the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and Bransfield, alleging violations of West Virginia consumer protection laws.[39] The complaint filed by the state specifically alleges that the diocese advertised itself as a safe place for children while "knowingly employed pedophiles and failed to conduct adequate background checks" on workers in Catholic schools and camps.[39] The lawsuit was groundbreaking because it named a diocese as a defendant rather than individual priests, and because it sought to make use of consumer-protection law to obtain discovery of church records.[39]

In September 2019, a second sex-abuse lawsuit was filed in state court in Ohio County, West Virginia against Bransfield by a former seminarian who accused Bransfield of sexual harassment.[40][41] As of August 2020, one the two sex abuse lawsuits filed against Bransfield was still ongoing, while the other was settled out of court.[42]

In October 2019, the Washington Post reported that police were investigating an allegation that Bransfield molested a 9-year-old girl during a September 2012 pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, while on a trip led by Bransfield.[43] The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston was subpoenaed for documents in connection with the investigation.[43] Bransfield denied the allegation.[43]