If Anyone Wants to Slog Through the Financial Audit in the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese.......

St. Joseph Cathedral, Wheeling, WV

Go for it.... The independent Audit Report for 2019 is out.

Please pray for this poor diocese. Breaking trust results in serious repercussions that have a long life.

May those who've left the Church because of the scandals, return. May those whose faith is weakened, persevere and grow in faith.

And may those who have always hated the Church and use this as an excuse to hate her even more, be converted by the holy witness of serious Catholics who remain faithful through every storm!

Phil Lawler Asks: Why Bishop Mark Brennan to Replace Bransfield?

In West Virginia, another bewildering Vatican appointment

Here's Lawler's recap from the article. I highlighted some things I thought were especially a propos and added some comments of my own:

So to recap:

Extra! Extra! New Bishop for West Virginia: Most Rev. Mark E. Brennan

Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop Mark E. Brennan has been named by Pope Francis to head up the
Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Can anything good come out of Baltimore? Let's hope so. Let's pray so.

Short bio of Bishop Brennan here.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE 7/23: I received this email today from a friend in West Virginia commenting on Bishop Brennan's background. What do you think?

Apostolic Nuncio Releases Communique on Bransfield

Will predator Bishop Bransfield land on four feet like the proverbial cat with nine lives?

Well, the latest is out on former bishop Michael Bransfield. Will it mean anything?

Guest Post: When a Father has Courage, He stands Up to Dragons!

"The wicked witch is dead!"

Editor's note: Fr. Sobus didn't choose the title for this post. I did. He is, indeed, a man of courage. May God give us many more such priests. Remember, you fathers out there, one of the most important things you can do for your children is to give them an example of courage. It isn't easy standing up to a corrupt bishop or a corrupt culture, but like the early Christian martyrs, we face murderous tyrants. Teach your children to be martyrs. It may come to that.

Fathers' Day Post by Fr. James Sobus

One of the most powerful scenes in that great classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, was the castle scene. Do you remember that one? Dorothy and her friends were trapped inside the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West and being chased by her furry castle guards and the flying monkeys. Then the grande encounter occurs: It’s Dorothy and her companions face to face against the Witch and her minions. It seemed the odds were completely against them. The scarecrow’s arm is set on fire by the Witch and Dorothy, in an attempt to save him grabs a bucket of water and tosses it at the burning arm but inadvertently splashes water on the Witch melting her to death. Then comes the moment of truth: what will the Witches’ minions do to Dorothy and her friends for having killed their leader??? To their shock and amazement, the soldiers bow down proclaiming, “Hail to Dorothy, the Wicked Witch is dead!”

Good News from Wheeling: Three Bransfield Enablers Resign from Chancery! Bad News: Two Get Parishes!

Frederick Annie       Anthony Cincinnati        Kevin Quirk

Three "my Lords", Quirk, Annie, and Cincinnati have resigned from their Church leadership positions at the chancery after a Vatican report that found them complicit in enabling harassing and abusive behavior by Bishop Michael Bransfield.

No reason was given for the resignations, but Nabi wrote often about them and the people of Wheeling know they were all enablers (and beneficiaries one presumes) of Bransfield's gratitude for their silence. Annie bought the booze to the tune of tens of thousands of diocesan money. He lived with Bransfield which leads one to wonder whether he was the bishop's drinking buddy. 

Unfortunately, two of these men, Annie and Cincinnati, are getting local parishes. They better have good finance councils in place is all I can say. The poor people of Wheeling have suffered enough. I hope they refuse to bankroll these men.

Money, money...who's got the money?

For Bishop Bransfield

Vatican cardinal, others to return cash gifts from ousted WV bishop Bransfield

I predict that the exposure of the financial disgrace in West Virginia is just the beginning. Is anyone so naive they think Bransfield was the only embezzler in a miter. As a priest warned me recently, "Don't trust anyone in a pointy hat."

Every cleric who accepted money from Bransfield should be investigated along with what they are doing with money in their own dioceses. Open the books! How many other bishops are doing exactly the same thing Bransfield was doing in Wheeling? How many, like Bransfield, look at their diocesan bank accounts and say, "It belongs to me?" 

In view of the mansions and luxury vacation homes of so many, I suspect their number is legion. As Lord Action said, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." These bishops operate in many cases with absolute power. The financial overseers in Wheeling did not do their jobs. How many other financial boards in other dioceses also bow to the perverted will and whims of their bishops and let them squander millions of dollars on their personal lifestyles while they close parishes and schools? 

Nabi Sendeth: Bransfield used Wheeling like his Personal ATM

Poor Michael He's whining that "Everybody's
trying to destroy my reputation. These people
are terrible to me." Poor baby.

I received a WAPO article from Nabi this morning.

Records Show Bransfield Gave $350,000 to Powerful Bishops and Cardinals. Administrator Bishop Lori got $10,500. He's going to give it back. Lots of others on the list including some surprising names.

From the article:

During his 13 years as bishop in West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the nation, Bransfield spent $2.4 million in church money on travel, much of it personal, which included flying in chartered jets and staying in luxury hotels, according to the report. Bransfield and several subordinates spent an average of nearly $1,000 a month on alcohol, it says. The West Virginia diocese paid $4.6 million to renovate Bransfield’s church residence after a fire damaged a single bathroom. When Bransfield was in the chancery, an administrative building, fresh flowers were delivered daily, at a cost of about $100 a day — almost $182,000 in all.

Latest Travesty in Wheeling: Diocese Uses Statute of Limitations to Avoid Accountability

God save Wheeling from this man!

Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston Wants Former Bishop Michael Bransfield Case Dismissed

No surprise really. Protecting the money is what church lawyers get paid for. 

Will the diocese's next move be to try to recall Bransfield and give him back his job (and his private chef, etc.)? Let's face it, many (perhaps most) of the U.S. bishops couldn't care less about right and wrong or the people in the pews. What do they care about? Well, in my opinion, many are good little Church politicians who care about the same thing worldly politicians care about.

MONEY...

POWER...

REPUTATION...

Diocese of Wheeling's Fr. Pat Wash -- Shining the Light of Truth on a Dark Scandal!

CORRECTION: According to a friend in the Diocese of Wheeling who called me this morning, Bishop Schmitt did not return Fr. Wash to active ministry. He removed him from the active priesthood after the arrest. Whether he was suspended or just given a "get out of Dodge" order, I don't know. Obviously he wasn't laicized to prevent him ever returning to active ministry. Did Schmitt report him to higher ups including the Apostolic Nuncio? I don't know. Sending him for a counseling degree may have been an "act of charity" according to my friend, so Wash could make a living outside the priesthood. (Not so charitable for the young men he might be counseling.) Garbage collector or car mechanic would have been better with fewer temptations. How many garbage collectors and mechanics are alone with their "clients?"

Nabi warned Us that the Foxes Are Guarding the Chicken Coop in the Diocese of Wheeling....

And they still are! 

The poor Bride of Christ continues to suffer at the hands of abusive men. But the spirit is moving to clean up the filth of corruption through the secular hands of the state. The civil government isn't necessarily a friend of the Church, but if you read the Old Testament, you realize that God often used strange instruments to chastise his people. Attorney Generals in many states are now putting the Church under a microscope and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Hey, even a doctor with mixed motives can save your life in an emergency.

Nabi Sends a Link: West Virginia Attorney General Files Lawsuit against Diocese and Bransfield

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey

We haven't heard much from Nabi in the past few months. But this morning I received an email with a linked article announcing that the West Virginia Attorney General's office has filed suit against the Diocese of Wheeling and former Bishop Michael Bransfield. Here's what's being reported by WOWK TV in Charleston, WV:

The suit alleges the diocese and the bishop knowingly employed pedophiles and failed to conduct adequate background checks for those working at schools and camps operated by the diocese, and without disclosing the inherent danger to parents who used those services for their children.

Nabi Sayeth: No Man Can Serve Two Masters

Nabi Sayeth: I love the Advent season and everything about it. But most especially, I love to hear
those words of the great prophet Isaiah: “Prepare the way of the Lord!”

Nabi Sayeth: "Hope Springs Eternal"

Nabi Sayeth: Alexander Pope wrote “Hope Springs Eternal” in his poem, “An Essay on Man”. And for sure, with the announcement that the diocese in West Virginia “will release the names of all people credibly accused of ‘child sexual abuse’ since the 1950’s”, there appears to be some cause for hope:

WHEELING, W.VA.—Archbishop William E. Lori, Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, announced today that the Diocese will release the names of all priests, deacons and religious credibly accused of child sexual abuse aware since 1950, the period in which it still has records. The release will include a list of the accused priests’ assignments during their tenure in the Diocese. None of the individuals who will be listed are currently in active ministry.

From the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to Release Names of All Priests That Have Been Credibly Accused of Abuse of Children of Which it is Aware Since 1950

WHEELING, W.VA.—Archbishop William E. Lori, Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, announced today that the Diocese will release the names of all priests, deacons and religious credibly accused of child sexual abuse aware since 1950, the period in which it still has records. The release will include a list of the accused priests’ assignments during their tenure in the Diocese. None of the individuals who will be listed are currently in active ministry.