The civil suit is notable for its unusual approach: It accuses church leaders of violating a consumer protection law, a statute that is more commonly applied to companies, not religious institutions.
Despite public outcry over sexual abuse allegations that continue to dog the Catholic Church, prosecutors often face challenges pursuing criminal cases. In West Virginia, the attorney general has the authority to bring only civil cases, not criminal ones. Law enforcement officials in other states have been stymied by statues of limitation.
The West Virginia approach alleges the diocese and bishop “knowingly employed pedophiles” at Catholic schools and camps but did not disclose to parents the “danger” of sending their children to these programs, which advertised safe environments. The suit also says church officials did not conduct adequate background checks for employees of Catholic schools and camps.
“We believe that every parent who paid tuition for a service that falls under consumer protection laws deserves to know the schools their children are attending are safe,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said.
Morrisey’s office began its investigation into the church in September, after the Pennsylvania report last summer alleging that bishops and other church leaders covered up widespread child sexual abuse over several decades. The lawsuit filed Tuesday says that, in at least five instances over several decades, the diocese put credibly accused priests back into ministry with children or did not conduct proper background checks on school employees.
Morrisey said he was seeking a permanent court order to block the Catholic Church from continuing such conduct, and that one goal of the lawsuit was to “dramatically increase transparency” within the church.
The diocese of Wheeling-Charleston “strongly and unconditionally rejects” the lawsuit’s allegation that it is not “wholly committed” to protecting children, a diocesan spokesman said Tuesday, adding that some of the allegations in the complaint “are not accurately described.” The findings of the church-led investigation into Bishop Michael J. Bransfield, who led the diocese from 2005 to 2018, have not yet been made public.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.