The people of the Wheeling-Charleston diocese live in one of the poorest regions in the United States. Her former bishop, on the other hand, indulged in luxury and gave young priests the chance to accompany him on expensive vacation trips.
The bishop regularly chartered private planes, rented the finest addresses around the world in fine hostels, dined like a prince in the best restaurants and spent a fortune at jewelry stores. He was often accompanied by young priests, some of whom later complained of sexual harassment.
Michael J. Bransfield justified to the Washington Post that he had been used to an elaborate lifestyle as a priest in Washington for more than 20 years. The paper has investigated allegations of abuse of power, sexual harassment of priests and misappropriation of church money against the former bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston (2005-2018) in an investigative research.
The Pope has Bransfield’s office investigated
On his 75th birthday in September 2018, Bransfield resigned for reasons of age. Pope Francis then appointed the archbishop of the neighboring diocese of Baltimore, William Lori, as administrator and instructed him to investigate Bransfield’s administration.
According to preliminary results, Bransfield was suspended from his priestly duties in March. According to the final report in July, allegations of Bransfield’s lavish lifestyle and the sexual harassment of young priests are “credible”.
Archbishop Lori then fell into the line of fire himself because he had omitted in his report that he was one of the recipients of generous allowances from Bransfield. While the Wheeling-Charleston diocese cut funds for nearly two dozen parishes and schools in the poor region, the bishop distributed monetary gifts to a number of influential church men.
In addition to Lori, the former head of the Vatican Supreme Court, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, and the former Nuncio in the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, also benefited from the benefits.
Critical questions to Pope critic Vigano
They had received complaints from West Virginia six years ago demanding an investigation into Bransfield’s administration. Vigano, who in turn raises cover-up allegations in the affair of former Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was removed from the priesthood, says – now faced with critical questions himself – that he cannot remember anything.
Much in the “Washington Post” history was already known from the investigation report. This includes the fact that Bransfield had spent around $ 4.6 million on his church residence in the 13 years of his tenure, including $ 4.6 million for travel, $ 340 million for travel, $ 340,000 for gifts, and $ 140,000 for restaurant visits.
New are details that document how naturally the bishop made the church pay for personal luxury while his parishioners wrestled with poverty. The “Post” has evidence of 150 private charter flights and 200 limousine trips. In the last year in office alone, Bransfield used the services of “Skyward Aviation” 19 times.
At the turn of 2017/18, he traveled with a friend of the Monsignor to the distinguished Palm Beach. There they stayed in the boutique hotel “The Colony”. The 160 square meter penthouse suite with private terrace cost the diocese $ 50,000.
At church cost to the Caribbean
At the end of January 2018, Bransfield then went on vacation again with a young priest at church cost; this time to the stronghold of hedonism, Miami Beach. In March I went to the Caribbean island of Aruba for four days, in April to Rome with a few vacation days attached to a luxury hotel in Positano on the Italian Amalfi coast, then in a private jet to Washington and in the summer for an extended stay on the beaches of New Jersey.
There Bransfield received the appointment to the nunciature, to which he arrived on August 28, 2018. The papal envoy told him at the meeting that his job was available. “It was the worst day of my life,” he said in an interview with the Washington Post. So bad that he had to go back to “Atlantic City” straight away; of course with limo and private jet.
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