As reported by the New York Times, the West Virginia attorney general filed a lawsuit against the state’s only Catholic diocese. The civil suit alleges a failure “to conduct adequate background checks” for employees of Catholic camps and schools, and that they did not disclose “the inherent danger to parents who purchased its services for their children.” According to the Wall Street Journal, the lawsuit “alleges the West Virginia diocese failed to notify parents about past allegations or admissions of sexual abuse or to conduct adequate background checks.” In one instance, it is alleged that “the diocese reassigned a priest who had admitted to abusing a student to a Catholic elementary school in Wheeling, W.Va., from 1998 to 2001, without informing parents.” The Wheeling-Charleston diocese covers all of West Virginia, which has a population of 1.8 million. The diocese operates six high schools and 19 elementary schools, according to the lawsuit.
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