3 officials resign amid scandals in W.Va. diocese

Three high-level officials within the Catholic Diocese of WheelingCharleston have resigned, days after details surfaced from a confidential Vatican report regarding accusations of sexual abuse and financial irregularities.

Those leaving their posts for other duties include:

● Monsignor Frederick Annie, vicar general of the diocese;

● Monsignor Anthony Cincinnati, vicar for clergy;

● Monsignor Kevin Quirk, judicial vicar and rector of the Cathedral of St. Joseph, who also stepped down from the board of directors at Wheeling Jesuit University and Wheeling Hospital.

A statement by the diocese in West Virginia outlining the moves said Monsignor Annie resigned in September and Monsignors Cincinnati and Quirk resigned Monday, effective immediately.

“I am grateful to all of these individuals and to my brother priests for their hard work and dedicated service to the Church, especially in these challenging times,” Archbishop William E. Lori said in the statement.

Last week, The Washington Post reported elements of a confidential report submitted to the Vatican regarding claims of sexual abuse and financial irregularities by former Wheeling-Charleston Bishop Michael Bransfield.

Monsignor Annie has been assigned as assistant priest in residence at St. Mary, Star City Parish just outside Morgantown, according to the diocese statement.

Monsignor Cincinnati will continue serving as pastor of St. Francis De Sales Parish in Morgantown, it added. Monsignor Quirk will serve as a priest in residence at Mater Dolorosa (Paden City) and St. Vincent de Paul (New Martinsville) parishes and Holy Rosary (Sistersville) and St. Joseph (Proctor) missions. There, he will assist Administrator Rev. Brian J. Crenwelge in his pastoral duties.

“The revelations about issues in the diocese outlined in the recent Washington Post story are deeply concerning to all members of the Catholic community,” read a statement released by Wheeling Jesuit University. “The university was informed earlier this week by Archbishop Lori that Monsignor Kevin Quirk has stepped down from the board. A successor will be named in the coming days.”

The report alleges that Bishop Bransfield, who was removed in September, spent $2.4 million in church money on travel, including chartered jets, and that he and his aides spent nearly $1,000 a month on alcohol, among other personal luxuries.

Citing church financial documents, the Post reported that Bishop Bransfield also gave cash gifts totaling $350,000 to fellow clergymen over his 13 years at the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, including young priests he is accused of mistreating and more than a dozen cardinals in the United States and at the Vatican. The church reimbursed him by boosting his compensation, the records show.

Former Bishop Bransfield has denied the allegations, telling the Post in a brief interview last week that “none of it is true” and that critics are “trying to destroy my reputation.”

The confidential report also had recommended the removal of Monsignors Annie, Cincinnati and Quirk.

“By failing to take any action, the Chancery Monsignors enabled the predatory and harassing conduct of Bishop Bransfield, and allowed him to recklessly spend Diocesan funds for his own personal use,” the report states.

Fathers Annie, Cincinnati and Quirk did not respond to requests for interviews or comment.

Fathers Annie and Quirk told investigators that there were few options for raising concerns about Bishop Bransfield, the report says. Father Cincinnati said he did not witness sexual harassment.

Bishop Bransfield became bishop of the diocese in 2005, taking the helm in one of the nation’s poorest states. Over more than a decade, while he was spending lavishly on himself and sending checks to other clerics, he sexually harassed young priests by touching or hugging them or by making sexually provocative remarks, according to the report.

Seminarians or young priests appealed to leaders in the diocese, to no avail, the report says. They were instructed to “make your boundaries clear,” it says, or told that they had no choice but to join Bishop Bransfield in such activities as sleepovers at his residence and on trips.

According to the report, Father Quirk, Bishop Bransfield’s judicial vicar, told a young priest who complained about Bishop Bransfield’s routine invitations to visit him at his home: “Your presence is required.”

Church investigators said that Father Annie was responsible for spending tens of thousands of dollars in church funds on alcohol at Bishop Bransfield’s behest, the report said. Father Annie lived in the same residence as Bishop Bransfield.

The vicars failed to act out of a combination of fear, loyalty and selfinterest, the report concluded.

“Despite witnessing multiple instances of harassing and abusive behavior over several years, none of the Vicars took action to address Bishop Bransfield’s behavior,” the report said.

Greg Warran, a spokesman for Wheeling Hospital, where Monsignor Quirk served as the head of its board of directors, could not immediately be reached for comment.