The civil suit also alleges that the diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and Bishop Michael J. Bransfield, who was recently restricted from ministry, “failed to conduct adequate background checks” for employees of Catholic camps and schools, and that they did not disclose “the inherent danger to parents who purchased its services for their children.”
The lawsuit claims that the diocese and the bishop violated the state’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act, an unusual approach in pursuing the Catholic Church over sexual abuse and misconduct. Criminal prosecutions of individual abuse cases have often been hampered by statutes of limitation, but the West Virginia lawsuit is a civil action and is directed at the church’s handling of the problem. At least 16 attorneys general have started investigations into the Catholic Church since last summer.
Pope Francis accepted Bransfield’s resignation in September and local church officials opened their own investigation into allegations that he had sexually harassed adults. Earlier this month, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, who has been overseeing the church in West Virginia since Bishop Bransfield’s resignation, announced that the preliminary investigation had been completed. He said that Bransfield would be restricted from ministry in West Virginia and the archdiocese of Baltimore, pending a final judgment by the Vatican.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey began his investigation in September and now is also seeking a permanent court order to block the church from continuing such conduct.
“Parents who pay and entrust the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese and its schools to educate and care for their children deserve full transparency,” he said in a statement. “Our investigation reveals a serious need for the diocese to enact policy changes that will better protect children, just as this lawsuit demonstrates our resolve to pursue every avenue to effectuate change as no one is above the law.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.