This archive report was first published on 21 July 2019.
On July 21, 2019, Pope Francis took decisive action against a former US bishop accused of serious misconduct.
Michael Bransfield, a former bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, was banned from performing the liturgy, a measure taken as part of a series of sanctions issued by the Pope.
According to a statement from Bransfield's former diocese, the Pope also forbade Bransfield from living in the diocese and instructed him to make personal amends for the harm he had caused.
The nature and extent of those amends will be decided by the future bishop of the diocese.
Bransfield resigned in 2018 after allegations of sexually harassing adults emerged, and an investigation led by Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore found the accusations to be credible.
These sanctions come as part of Pope Francis's efforts to address scandals within the Catholic Church, including the defrocking of a former US cardinal in February for allegations of sexual abuse.
As a result of these scandals, the US Catholic Church has strengthened its system for reporting abuses, with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops agreeing to make it compulsory for clergy to report abuse to the Vatican.
