Michael Joseph Bransfield (born September 8, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Bransfield served as bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia from 2005 to 2018.
After Bransfield retired in 2018, a church investigation led by Archbishop
William E. Lori
William Edward Lori (born May 6, 1951) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the 16th archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland since 2012. He was previously the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport ...
and five
lay
Lay may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
*Lay, Loire, a French commune
*Lay (river), France
*Lay, Iran, a village
*Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
People
* Lay (surname)
* ...
experts examined "multiple allegations of
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
of adults and financial improprieties" leveled against him.Two bishops removed from ministry over allegations of sexual harassment Associated Press/Catholic News Service, March 12, 2019 The report found that the accusations of sexual harassment were credibleLinda Comins 'Credible' Accounts Accuse Sexual Harassment From Former Bishop Michael J. Bransfield ''The Intelligencer'' (June 6, 2019). and detailed Bransfield's diversion of diocesan funds to support a lavish lifestyle.Michelle Boorstein, Shawn Boburg & Robert O'Harrow Jr ''Washington Post'', June 5, 2019
In July 2019, Pope Francis banned Bransfield from residing in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and ordered him not to “preside or to participate anywhere in any public celebration of the Liturgy,"Pope Francis issues disciplinary measures for Bishop Bransfield ''America - The Jesuit Review'', July 19, 2019 thus barring him from engaging in public ministry within the Catholic Church. Church leaders—some of whom had previously received gifts from Bransfield—were criticized for failing to respond to initial complaints concerning Bransfield and for later weakening restitution requirements.
Master of Divinity
For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...
degree from
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school ...
Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
in Washington, D.C. He was later a teacher and chaplain at
Lansdale Catholic High School
Lansdale Catholic High School is a secondary school that is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, United States.
History
The school opened in September 1949 as Little Flower Catholic Hi ...
in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and the chairman of its religion department.Update: Bishop Bransfield retires; pope orders investigation of allegations Catholic News Service (September 13, 2018). In 1987, Pope John Paul II named Bransfield as an
honorary prelate
A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour.
They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.
Bransfield was named assistant director and director of
liturgy
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
(1980), director of finance (1982), and director (1986) at the
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large minor Catholic basilica and national shrine in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 400 Michigan Avenue Northeast, adjacent to Catholic University.
...
in Washington, D.C. When the shrine was named a basilica in 1990, Bransfield was appointed its first
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
, serving in this position until 2004.
Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston
On December 9, 2004, John Paul II appointed Bransfield as bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. He was consecrated on February 22, 2005, by Cardinal William Keeler, with then Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Bishop Bernard Schmitt as co-consecrators, at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Wheeling, West Virginia.
As a bishop, Bransfield was elected president of The Papal Foundation, a Catholic nonprofit organization that distributes funds to charitable organizations. Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), he served a term as treasurer,Diocesan Financial Issues ', United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (2002).Rita Ferrone Why the 'Metropolitan Plan' Does't Work: Exhibit A: Bishop Bransfield ''Commonweal'' (July 11, 2019). and as a member of the Conference's Communications Committee and the National Collections Committee; he also co-authored a set of diocesan financial guidelines approved by the USCCB in 2002.
Bransfield was a member of the boards of trustees of the
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school ...
and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He held membership in the Knights of Columbus and the
Knights of the Holy Sepulchre
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...
.
Accusations of sexual abuse and harassment
In April 2012, the Associated Press reported that Bransfield had been accused of sexual abuse of a boy in the
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...
. Accusations against Bransfield had been 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.
Resignation
When he turned 75 in September 2018, Bransfield submitted his resignation to the pope as required by canon law. His resignation was immediately accepted by Pope Francis, who named Archbishop
William E. Lori
William Edward Lori (born May 6, 1951) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the 16th archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland since 2012. He was previously the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport ...
of Baltimore as apostolic administrator of the diocese. At the time of Bransfield's resignation, he was described as an associate of McCarrick.
Investigations and aftermath
After Bransfield resigned, Pope Francis directed Archbishop Lori to conduct an investigation into allegations that Bransfield sexually harassed adults. The investigation was prompted by a August 2018 letter to Lori from by Monsignor Kevin Quirk, a canon lawyer and top aide to Bransfield. In the letter, Quirk alleged that Bransfield had engaged in drug and
alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence, in extreme cases resulting in health problems for individuals and large scale social problems such as alcohol-relat ...
, sexual harassment, and financial impropriety.Robert O'Harrow Jr. & Shawn Boburg Warnings about West Virginia bishop went unheeded as he doled out cash gifts to Catholic leaders ''Washington Post'' (July 3, 2019).
In 2019, the five lay investigators overseen by Lori submitted a 60-page report on Bransfield to the Vatican. A copy of the Lori report was obtained by the '' Washington Post'', which reported on the findings in June 2019, Lori released a letter to the priests and laity of the diocese about the investigation on the same day as the ''Post'' article. The ''Post'' published the full Lori report in December 2019.
Sexual harassment
The Lori investigative team determined that the allegations that Bransfield had
sexually harassed
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
adults were "credible". The report 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," specifically seminarians and young priests. According to a diocesan spokesman, the investigation "found that no criminal activity was undertaken", and the Lori report was not submitted to law enforcement. Lori stated that "the investigation found no conclusive evidence of sexual misconduct with minors by the former bishop during its investigation." 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.
As summarized in the ''Washington'' ''Post'', the Lori 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." The report stated that the diocese's
judicial vicar
In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official ( la, links=no, officialis) is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court. Although the diocesan bishop can reserv ...
had attempted to ensure that
altar server
An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up the bo ...
s were not left alone with Bransfield. The report did not name the complainants; Lori said that information was withheld "due to privacy concerns and at the request of those who alleged harassment by Bishop Bransfield."
The Lori report also stated that;
* Sexual abuse complaints were raised against Bransfield when he was a teacher at Lansdale High School and rector of the Basilica
* The vicar for clergy in the diocese reported that at least six clerical assistants to Bransfield "were broken by" their experiences working under him;
* As bishop, Bransfield abused alcohol and prescription drugs, including oxycodone, and that this "likely contributed to his harassing and abusive behavior."
In interview with investigators, Bransfield denied engaging in any sexual misconduct.
Financial impropriety
The Lori investigation 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." Bransfield wrote the checks from his personal account, and the diocese reimbursed him for the value of the gifts. The gifts came in the form of at least 565 checks made out to the clerics by name.The Lori report also found that, during his 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 several subordinates, spent:
* Approximately $1,000 per month on alcohol
* $182,000 for fresh flowers delivered daily to the
chancery
Chancery may refer to:
Offices and administration
* Chancery (diplomacy), the principal office that houses a diplomatic mission or an embassy
* Chancery (medieval office), responsible for the production of official documents
* Chancery (Scotlan ...
* $4.6 million to renovate Bransfield's church residence after a fire damaged a single bathroom."
* church funds for a personal chef and chauffeur.
The Lori 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." 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."
Bransfield denied the findings of the Lori report, but provided no details to corroborate his denial . In a July 2019 interview, he argued that his financial decisions as bishop were justified and approved by diocesan financial officials.
Early warnings of financial impropriety
Beginning in 2012, multiple parishioners in Bransfield's diocese complained to church authorities in the United States and the Vatican that Bransfield was engaged in financial abuses, but these complaints were not acted upon. Archbishop Lori, Archbishop Carlo Viganò, then the papal nuncio to the United States; Cardinal Raymond Burke, then the leader of the
Apostolic Signatura
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...
at the Vatican; and Archbishop Peter Wells, an official at the Vatican Secretariat of State, all received these complaints. Viganò, Burke, Wells, and Lori were also recipients of cash gifts from Bransfield.
Between 2005 and 2018, Bransfield had paid $350,000 to clergy in the United States and in the Vatican in what an aide described as an effort to "purchase influence". 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.
Recommendations of the investigative team
The Lori report "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.
Church disciplinary action
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. In June 2019, Bransfield's three former top aides resigned.
In July 2019, Pope Francis banned Bransfield from living in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and forbid him from presiding over or participating "in any public celebration of the Liturgy." Though Bransfield was not laicized, these measures permanently excluded him from engaging in any form of public ministry in the Catholic church.Tal Axelrod Vatican bans West Virginia bishop from public ministry over sexual misconduct allegations ''The Hill'' (July 19, 2019).
Pope Francis also directed that Bransfield's replacement as bishop determine how Bransfield should "make personal amends" for his actions.Michelle Boorstein West Virginia bishop calls for predecessor, accused of sex and financial misconduct, to pay $792,000 in restitution and to apologize ''Washington Post'' (November 26, 2019). Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop
Mark E. Brennan
Mark Edward Brennan (born February 6, 1947) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who is bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia. He was installed on August 22, 2019. Brennan previously served as an auxiliary ...
In November 2019, Bishop Brennan ordered Bransfield to pay restitution of $792,638 to the diocese and to issue an apology "for the severe emotional and spiritual harm his actions caused" to his victims and to the diocese. Brennan also directed Bransfield to pay $110,000 in unpaid taxes to the US Internal Revenue Service. Brennan also revoked some of Bransfield's retirement benefits and barred him from burial in the diocesan cemetery. Brennan's directive is believed to be a rare, perhaps unprecedented, example of a bishop being ordered to pay restitution.
In early August 2020, Brennan indicated that Bransfield was not responding to him and had failed to apologize or respond to the restitution directive of November 2019. 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. However, Bransfield continued to maintain "I believed that such reimbursements to me were proper."Michelle Boorstein Vatican agrees to weakened restitution for West Virginia bishop accused of sexual and financial misdeeds ''Washington Post'' (August 20, 2020).Disgraced Bishop Bransfield writes to apologize 'for any scandal or wonderment' ''MetroNews'' (August 20, 2020). Under the Vatican agreement,At Mass, Faithful Say Michael Bransfield's Apology Not Enough '' The Intelligencer'' (August 22, 2020). Bransfield was to receive a monthly stipend from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and have the diocese pay his health insurance coverage. Bransfield also retained his title as bishop. Many West Virginia parishioners were critical of Bransfield's lack of remorse and his apology letter saying he believed he did nothing wrong.
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.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) called for a law enforcement investigation and criticized the church discipline imposed against Bransfield by Brennan as insufficient because they suggested "that Bransfield alone should make reparations." SNAP called for consequences for Church officials who concealed, or failed to address, Bransfield's conduct.
Civil lawsuits
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.
Also in March 2019 West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of the
State of West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
against the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and Bransfield, alleging violations of West Virginia
consumer protection laws
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...
.Michelle Boorstein, Sarah Pulliam Bailey & Tom Jackman West Virginia accuses Catholic diocese and former bishops of sex abuse cover-up in unusual consumer protection lawsuit March 19, 2019. The complaint 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. 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
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
of church records.
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.Joselyn King Second Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Filed Against Former bishop Michael Bransfield ''The Intelligencer'' (September 30, 2019). As of August 2020, one of the two sex abuse lawsuits filed against Bransfield was still ongoing, while the other was settled out of court.
Criminal investigation
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.Shawn Boburg & Robert O'Harrow Jr. ''Washington Post'' (October 3, 2019). The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston was subpoenaed for documents in connection with the investigation. Bransfield denied the allegation.
On August 15, 2021, Bransfield issued a statement apologizing for his actions. Bishop Brennan in September has this comment about the apology: "For my part, I found his apology self-serving and lacking in any recognition of, or contrition for, actually having offended people."