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The Vatican announced Friday it was banning retired West Virginia Bishop Michael Bransfield from public ministry following allegations of sexual and financial misconduct.

But the Vatican stopped short of defrocking Bransfield.

The sanctions, which included a ban on Bransfield residing in his former diocese, were ordered by Pope Francis and posted on the website for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

The Vatican, which conducted an investigation into the allegations against Bransfield after he resigned in 2018, went on to say the former bishop had an “obligation to make personal amends for some of the harm he caused,” adding that the “nature and extent of the amends” would be decided “in consultation with the future Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston.”

The statement detailing the sanctions against Bransfield said the Vatican’s inquiry centered around “allegations of sexual harassment of adults and of financial improprieties.”

Bransfield resigned in September 2018 after an aide unearthed years of sexual and financial misconduct, including allegations he spent millions of dollars on himself and sent expensive gifts to clergy members who accused him of harassment.

Records obtained by The Washington […]