Pope Francis orders investigation of W.Va. bishop on sexual harassment charges

Pope Francis has ordered an investigation of Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va., in connection with sexual harassment charges and accepted his resignation, church officials announced Thursday.

The pope instructed Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore to conduct a probe into allegations that Bransfield, 75, sexually harassed adults, the Archdiocese of Baltimore said in a statement. Lori was also appointed as apostolic administrator of Wheeling-Charleston.

The investigation and resignation were announced on the same day that Francis is meeting with a delegation of U.S. Catholic cardinals and bishops in the wake of allegations of sex abuse and coverups of wrongdoing.

The meeting was requested by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, after it was revealed that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick rose to his senior position despite known allegations of sexual misconduct. An archbishop has accused Francis himself of turning a blind eye to the alleged misdeeds of McCarrick, who has resigned from the College of Cardinals.

In a statement issued Thursday regarding the case of Bransfield, Lori said: “My primary concern is for the care and support of the priests and people of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston at this difficult time.”

He added, “I further pledge to conduct a thorough investigation in search of the truth into the troubling allegations against Bishop Bransfield and to work closely with the clergy, religious and lay leaders of the diocese until the appointment of a new bishop.”

[Pope Francis summons bishops for summit to discuss preventing clergy sex abuse and protecting children]

Lori will continue to serve as archbishop of Baltimore while administering the West Virginia diocese, according to the statement from the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Bransfield, a native of Philadelphia who began his career as a priest in the Philadelphia archdiocese, was accused during a 2012 trial of other Philadelphia clergy of having sexually abused teenage boys in the late 1970s or early 1980s. He denied the allegations.

The Philadelphia archdiocese has said it learned of an allegation against Bransfield in 2007 regarding sexual misconduct in the 1970s, but prosecutors did not pursue the case at the time. The case was reopened in 2012.

Bransfield served for a time as vice principal of an archdiocesan high school in Philadelphia. He was subsequently named director of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. He had headed the statewide diocese in West Virginia since February 2005.

The Vatican announced Wednesday that the pope will convene an unprecedented meeting early next year to discuss the prevention of abuse by Roman Catholic clerics and the protection of children. The extraordinary conclave, scheduled for Feb. 21 to 24 at the Vatican, is intended to respond to complaints that the Vatican has failed to enact adequate measures to prevent abuse that many Catholics say should have been adopted years ago.

The pope’s meeting Thursday with U.S. Catholic leaders, including DiNardo, was expected to deal with his request for a Vatican-led investigation to account for how McCarrick climbed the ranks, becoming one of the world’s most powerful cardinals, in the face of rumors about his sexual conduct. Although McCarrick resigned as a cardinal in July, some church leaders say it is critical to figure out who protected him. McCarrick became a cardinal in 2001 and served as archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006.

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