The following is a statement released from the Diocese. Please keep our Bishop,
Diocese and victims of sexual abuse in your prayers.

UNEDITED: STATEMENT FROM BISHOP MICHAEL J. BRANSFIELD

"I have been deeply saddened by the priest child abuse scandal that has been
connected to a handful of my former colleagues and friends from St. Charles
Seminary. Over the years, I have felt devastation for both the victims and the
church as I learned about the terrible actions they took with innocent victims.

To now be unfairly included in that group and to hear the horrific allegations that
are being made of me is unbelievable and shocking. As a native of Roxboro, I
consider Philadelphia my home. I have openly been an advocate for the eradication of
the abusive behavior of priests in every diocese, and have demonstrated this in the
Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, where I now live and serve.

I have never sexually abused anyone.

I understand that I am a public figure and therefore subject to public criticism.
The nature of these statements and the manner in which they were released however go
way beyond any sense of fairness and propriety. This case has gone on for seven
years or more and simple facts like whether I own, or owned, a farm in the Scranton
area were easily determinable. Contrary to the statements, I do not own, and never
owned a farm in the Scranton area, upstate New York, or anywhere else for that
matter.

The statement that a former seminarian of mine, Stanley Gana, abused a minor at a
home which I owned on the shore and at which I permitted numerous friends and
priests to use. What did not get released was additional information available to
the Prosecutor that I was not aware of the incident and was not present at the house
at the time. Gana has confirmed those facts in prior reports.

I was in Rome attending meetings at the Vatican when this false story about me was
publicly released by the media without my knowledge or input. To say I was shocked
and saddened by these heinous allegations would be an understatement.

I ask you to pray for me and the parishioners of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
as well as the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. At the same time, please join me in
prayer for all those who have been affected by sexual abuse."