Abuse probe dogs bishop, despite Rigali's unorthodox role - Philly.com

In March 2008, Cardinal Justin F. Rigali handed Bishop Michael J. Bransfield welcome news.

a break from practice, the accusation against Bransfield bypassed the archdiocese's civilian review board, according to a source briefed on the case but not authorized to publicly discuss it. The board was formed to conduct independent examinations of abuse claims and assesses priests' suitablility for ministry.

Instead, Rigali acted after reviewing the reports of an investigator who interviewed Bransfield, his accuser and others.

And though the archdiocese routinely publicly identifies and suspends priests as it reviews allegations against them, four years passed before the complaint against Bransfield came to light, and then only in passing at the landmark clergy-sex abuse trial. Still, it proved enough to rekindle a long-dormant criminal inquiry and spark new questions about Bransfield, a Philadelphia native who spent his early years as a priest here and who now serves as West Virginia's top prelate….

.In interviews last week, the two Gana accusers whose trial testimony unleashed the scrutiny on the bishop described for the first time their contact with Bransfield in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Both men said they had no proof or knowledge that Bransfield abused anyone. Instead, they said they were disturbed by his association with Gana and presumed he knew Gana was assaulting them.

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