This morning I had planned to write about the disgraceful excuse for an “apology” proffered by a former bishop. But I see that Christopher Altieri, writing in the Catholic Herald has beaten me to the punch:
Let’s be clear about two things: Bishop Michael J. Bransfield—improbably emeritus of the Diocese of Wheeling Charleston—did not apologize; nor did he get the “justice with a gesture of mercy” that his successor, Bishop Mark E. Brennan, suggested he might have got.
RELATED STORY: VIGANÒ: BP. BRANSFIELD A ‘PERFECT EXAMPLE’ OF GAY MAFIA IN THE CHURCH
Bishop Bransfield, you will recall, was allowed to resign upon reaching the normal age limit, despite mounting evidence that he had used diocesan funds on personal expenses at a spectacular level and—as if that weren’t enough—established a pattern of sexual harassment of priests and seminarians under his authority. Bishop Brennan, his successor in the West Virginia diocese, had denounced Bransfield’s behavior and suggested appropriate disciplinary action. After months of delay the Vatican finally approved the disciplinary action—but, Altieri rightly observes, not before watering down Bishop Brennan’s suggestions.
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