Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston Story Archives - Page 3 of 3

W.Va. Catholic Diocese Releases More Accused Priests' Names

West Virginia’s only Roman Catholic diocese has released the names of two more priests who it says have been credibly accused of child sexual abuse in the state.

The priests are accused of committing the abuse while working at the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Both are deceased.

One of them, the Rev. Raymond Waldruff, previously was accused of abuse in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in the 1960s. Complaints of decades-old abuse were made against him in March in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and in April in the Diocese of Owensboro, Kentucky.

Waldruff served at two churches in north-central West Virginia in the 1970s.

The other priest, the Rev. Andrew F. Lukas, was accusing of abusing a minor in the 1960s. The allegation was reported to the diocese in January.

Eight other priests added to the latest list had claims against them in other regions or dioceses but not in West Virginia. None are in active ministry.

The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register first reported on the updated list, which brings to 40 the number of accused priests or deacons who served in West Virginia.

The diocese posted the list on its website last week. The original list was posted in November.

Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston spokesman Tim Bishop said in a statement Tuesday that the updated list shows “the Diocese’s commitment to transparency and accountability.”

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a lawsuit in March accusing the diocese and former Bishop Michael Bransfield of knowingly employing pedophiles and failing to conduct adequate background checks on camp and school workers.

Morrisey said in a statement that the diocese quietly updated the original listing without immediately trumpeting its release.

“If the Diocese truly sought closure and healing for victims, it would make good on its obligation to announce updates to its findings so those victimized would feel empowered to seek counseling and know they are not alone,” Morrisey said.

Instead, “the Diocese appears fixated upon its goal of minimizing this scandal with limited publicity about wrongdoing and maximum publicity of its public relations campaign to protect the Church.”

State Lawsuit Against Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, Background and Reactions

West Virginia’s attorney general is suing the state’s Catholic Church. The lawsuit filed this week claims the church knowingly employed pedophiles in…

West Virginia’s attorney general is suing the state’s Catholic Church. The lawsuit filed this week claims the church knowingly employed pedophiles in schools and camps without informing parents.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey says the state is stepping in because the church violated the state’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act when it failed to disclose important information to families paying for educational services.

“We allege that the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese persisted in covering up and keeping secret the criminal behavior of priests related to sexual abuse of children,” Morrisey said during a press conference.

Investigations into the Catholic Church exist in more than a dozen other states, many suits drawing criminal charges in specific abuse cases.

However, Morrisey’s is a civil case. His might be the first to use consumer protection laws to try to hold Catholic officials accountable. Morrisey hopes this approach will be more successfully prosecuted than criminal charges which can be hampered by statutes of limitations.

A Timeline of Investigations

In addition to the attorney general’s state investigation announced this week, two separate internal investigations into the Catholic Church were recently conducted.

The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston began its own internal investigation of all documented cases of credible abuse accusations earlier in 2018.

In September, 2018, the Diocese Bishop Michael Bransfield turned 75 years old, and as is customary, he resigned his position. Rome accepted his resignation unusually fast (within a matter of days) and simultaneously launched an investigation into allegations that Bransfield sexually harassed adults.

At that point the West Virginia’s attorney general signaled he wanted to investigate, but it wasn’t clear that he had until this week’s announcement.

In November, the diocese revealed what they found during their internal probe. In “an effort to build back trust,” a list was released of all of the “credibly accused” names the diocese has been made aware of in the last 70 years.

Eighteen former clergy were named, including the allegations and complaints against them, when the diocese was made aware, and their assignments throughout their time with the diocese.

Last week the investigation into former bishop Bransfield concluded. Findings were not released but sent to Rome for final judgement. The investigation was conducted by five lay investigators who looked into “multiple allegations of sexual harassment and financial improprieties.”

Morrisey is calling on the Catholic Church to release the details of that investigation.

Diocesan Response

In a statement released in response to the state’s lawsuit, the diocese challenged the attorney general’s assertions. The statement indicates there’s some question about timelines reported and whether accused priests were in fact knowingly placed in schools as the lawsuit contends.

The diocese also wrote that it has employed a “zero tolerance policy for any cleric, employee or volunteer credibly accused of abuse.” That policy was established more than a decade ago.

The statement also indicates that many details of the lawsuit come from the publicized findings from the internal review released late last year — but that the some allegations are not accurately described, and that some are more than 50 years old.

Abuse Victims’ Response

Following the attorney general’s announcement, protesters held small demonstrations in front of the Catholic Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Wheeling. Members of organizations that support victims of abuse quietly held signs. Many were victims themselves.

Judy Jones, the midwest regional leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, stood with a handful of people applauding the attorney general Thursday.

“This is still happening,” she said of abusive behavior by priests and coverups. “This is still going on.”

Jones asserts the list of abusive clerics released by the Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston late last year is incomplete and hopes the attorney general is able to reveal more abuse and inspire similar lawsuits throughout the country.

Former priest and brother Robert Hoatson came from New Jersey and stood in front of the cathedral Wednesday with signs in hand. He founded a nonprofit called Road to Recovery in 2003 and says he was himself abused as a brother and as a seminarian.

“That culture of aberrant sexuality runs through the entire church,” he said. “The church only cares about protecting its image and its money.”

Hoatson said he was encouraged by his experience protesting in Wheeling.

“Usually I’m harassed or told to get a life or a real job, but I can’t believe the number of people who have driven by and beeped with their thumbs up,” he said. “I think people are beginning to realize the corruption of the hierarchy that created this mess.”

Diocese Releases Names of Clergy Accused of Sexual Abuse

West Virginia’s Roman Catholic archdiocese released the names Thursday of priests or deacons who it said have been credibly accused of child sexual abuse since 1950.

Eleven of the 18 accused clergy are deceased, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston said in a news release. None of the others are in active ministry.

The clergymen were named by the church’s local district in a document summarizing the complaints.

More than 2,000 files containing tens of thousands of documents were reviewed. The diocese hopes the release “will be one of many steps taken to restore trust with parishioners and the broader community in West Virginia,” Wheeling-Charleston Archbishop William Lori said.

The list included brief descriptions of accusations included inappropriate touching, abuse or solicitation.

One of the accused priests, the Rev. Felix Owino, was deported to Africa following his 2010 conviction in northern Virginia of aggravated sexual battery of a girl. Owino had served as an associate pastor at a Catholic church in Weirton and also taught at Wheeling Jesuit University.

The case of Brother Rogers Hannan, who served at two parishes in McDowell County, was referred to a prosecutor. He was convicted and sentenced in 2014 to up to 10 years in prison for solicitation of a minor.

The Rev. Victor Frobas, who served at multiple West Virginia parishes, was convicted in 1988 of molesting two boys at a parish in suburban St. Louis. He served more than two years in prison and died in 1993.

The Rev. Paul J. Schwarten, who served at parishes in Weston, Ronceverte and White Sulphur Springs more than a half century ago, served 18 months in prison for inappropriately touching a minor in Nebraska. He died in 1993.

Also released is a list of 13 accused priests from other regions or dioceses who served in West Virginia but had no claims filed against them with the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

The list was released two months after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of West Virginia Bishop Michael Bransfield and authorized an investigation into allegations he sexually harassed adults.

“This list undoubtedly reveals the failings of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to fully protect young people within the Church,” Lori said. “Rightly, many have a cause for anger and pain. I offer my sincerest apologies to all victims of sexual abuse and vow to strive to take proper action to ensure the safety of children and others in our care.”

A sexual abuse hotline created through the Diocese can be reached at 1-833-230-5656.

July 19, 1850: Pope Establishes Diocese of Wheeling

On July 19, 1850, Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Wheeling to oversee Catholic parishes in what was then Western Virginia. Previously, Catholics in the western part of the state had been under the care of the Archbishop of Richmond, Richard Whelan.

However, Whelan realized the population in Western Virginia was growing so quickly that the vast region needed its own Catholic diocese. Whelan moved to Wheeling and became bishop of the new diocese.

The Diocese of Wheeling originally covered much of present-day West Virginia—with the exception of the Eastern Panhandle—plus 17 counties in southwestern Virginia.

It consisted of about 5,000 Catholics, who were served by four churches, three chapels, and six priests. It wasn’t until 1974 that the Eastern Panhandle counties were transferred to the Diocese of Wheeling, and the Virginia counties were given back to the Diocese of Richmond. At the same time, the name of the diocese was changed to the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, with a co-cathedral at Sacred Heart Parish in Charleston.

Today, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston consists of nearly 100,000 members, accounting for about one of every 18 West Virginians.

Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston Buys WJU

Wheeling Jesuit University has been purchased by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to assure the future of the only Catholic university in the state.

Earlier this year, the school’s board of trustees appealed to the diocese to help secure its long-term future and lower its operating costs. Specifically, the university was challenged by its long-term debt. Bishop Michael J. Bransfield responded by redeeming WJU’s bonds.

In exchange for the bond redemption, the diocese will purchase all of the University’s property for an undisclosed amount. The property will be leased back to the University at a nominal rate.

The school says in a statement that it will now “embark on a new strategy to reimagine, realign and renew the future of Jesuit education.”

Pope Establishes Diocese of Wheeling: July 19, 1850

However, Whelan realized the population in Western Virginia was growing so quickly that the vast region needed its own Catholic diocese. Whelan moved to Wheeling and became bishop of the new diocese.

The Diocese of Wheeling originally covered much of present-day West Virginia—with the exception of the Eastern Panhandle—plus 17 counties in southwestern Virginia.

Today, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston consists of nearly 100,000 members, accounting for about one of every 18 West Virginians.