CHARLESTON (WV)
The Intelligencer
May 29, 2019
By Jess Mancini
The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston responded Tuesday to claims that it should be announcing the names of priests that are added to its lists of priests who are credibly accused of abuse, saying the names are readily available online.
The diocese added nine priests to the list, first reported on Saturday by the Catholic Committee of Appalachia, which said the diocese added the priests without an announcement. The story broke in the Sunday News-Register.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who earlier this year sued the diocese asserting it violated the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act in advertising failing to disclose it employed accused priests and did inadequate background investigations, cited the News-Register report.
“The diocese does not rely upon the news media and its parishioners to stumble upon its responses to our lawsuit — they shout it from the roof tops, and in the same manner, the diocese has an obligation to make robust announcements to potential victims anytime they update their list of credibly accused priests,” Morrisey said in a statement. “Instead, the diocese appears fixated upon its goal of minimizing this scandal with limited publicity about wrong doing and maximum publicity of its public relations campaign to protect the church.”
The Catholic Committee, which calls itself a social justice network, said the diocese added to the list of priests who served in the diocese but were accused of abuse outside of the diocese, and to the list of priests accused of abuse while in the diocese.https://bit.ly/2I4MRlf
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