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WORLD NEWS Friday 14 September 2018

Pope OKs probe into US bishop as he meets with US delegation

By NICOLE WINFIELD The statement also made
Associated Press no mention of the Brans-
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope field investigation. McCar-
Francis accepted the res- rick was a co-consecrator
ignation of a U.S. bishop when Bishop Bransfield was
Thursday and authorized ordained a bishop in 2005
an investigation into allega- and the two were active
tions he sexually harassed in the Papal Foundation,
adults, adding awkward the big U.S. fundraising or-
drama to an audience with ganization that McCarrick
U.S. church leaders over co-founded and which has
the abuse and cover-up funneled millions of dollars
scandal roiling the Catholic to the Vatican over the
Church. years.
The resignation of West Vir- Bransfield was president
ginia Bishop Michael Brans- when the foundation was
field was announced just as thrown into disarray last
the four-member U.S. del- year over a revolt by its
egation was sitting down lay donors. They were in-
with Francis in his private censed that the cardinals
study in the Apostolic Pal- Pope Francis delivers his speech during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the who run the foundation
ace. Among the four was Vatican , Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018. had agreed to a $25 million
Bransfield's cousin, Monsi- Associated Press request from the Vatican to
gnor Brian Bransfield, sec- against Bishop Bransfield." as a cardinal in July after a had requested the papal bail out a troubled Rome
retary-general of the U.S. No details of the allegations U.S. church investigation audience last month fol- hospital. Under pressure,
Conference of Catholic were revealed and his dio- found the allegation credi- lowing revelations that Mc- the cardinals pulled the
Bishops. cese said it had "no idea" ble. After news broke of the Carrick had risen through plug on the funding mid-
Bishop Bransfield had been where Bransfield was after investigation, several for- church ranks even though way through.
investigated for an alleged the Vatican ordered him to mer seminarians and priests the allegations of sexual Diocese of Wheeling-
groping incident in 2007 live outside the diocese. came forward to report misconduct were known in Charleston spokesman Tim
and was implicated in court Lori set up a hotline for po- that they, too, had been U.S. and Vatican circles. Bishop said Thursday he
testimony in 2012 in an infa- tential victims to call, said abused or harassed by Mc- DiNardo requested a full- couldn't answer questions
mous Philadelphia priestly the Vatican had instructed Carrick as adults. fledged Vatican investiga- about Bransfield's where-
sex abuse case. He strongly him to make the investiga- The McCarrick affair — tion into the McCarrick af- abouts or whether he has
denied ever abusing any- tion public, and vowed to coupled with revelations in fair, and said he also want- an attorney.
one and the diocese said conduct a thorough study the Pennsylvania grand jury ed answers to allegations "The Holy See has instructed
it had disproved the claims. into what he said were report detailing decades that a string of Vatican of- him to live outside the Dio-
He continued with his min- "troubling" claims against of abuse and cover-up in ficials knew of McCarrick's cese of Wheeling-Charles-
istry until he offered to re- Bransfield, who was a ma- six dioceses — has fueled misdeeds since 2000, but ton," Bishop said. "I have no
tire, as required, when he jor fundraiser for the Vati- outrage among the rank- turned a blind eye. idea of his whereabouts."
turned 75 last week. can via the Pennsylvania- and-file faithful who had A statement issued by Di- The Vatican hasn't re-
The Vatican said Francis based Papal Foundation. trusted church leaders to Nardo after the papal au- sponded to allegations by
accepted his resignation The revelation was the lat- reform themselves after the dience made no mention its former ambassador to
Thursday and appointed est twist in an incredible abuse scandal first erupted of his request for a Vatican the U.S., Archbishop Carlo
Baltimore Archbishop Wil- turn of events in the U.S. in Boston in 2002. investigation. It said that Maria Vigano, that Francis
liam Lori to take over Brans- church that began with the Outrage has also been di- the Americans briefed the effectively rehabilitated
field's Wheeling-Charleston June 20 announcement rected at Francis and the pope on the "laceration" McCarrick from sanctions
diocese temporarily. Lori that one of the most pres- Vatican and has fueled that abuse has caused imposed by Pope Bene-
said in a statement that tigious U.S. cardinals, Theo- conservative criticism of and that "we look forward dict XVI over allegations
Francis had also instructed dore McCarrick, had been Francis' pontificate. to actively continuing our McCarrick would routinely
him to "conduct an inves- accused of groping a teen- The head of the U.S. bish- discernment together iden- invite seminarians to his
tigation into allegations of age altar boy in the 1970s. ops conference, Houston tifying the most effective beach house and into his
sexual harassment of adults Francis removed McCarrick Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, next steps." bed.q