ROANOKE (VA)
WFXR
June 23, 2020
By Colleen Guerry and Santiago Melli-Huber
Martinsville VA – For months now, Father Mark White has been in a fight with the Diocese of Richmond over the Bishop’s attempts to re-assign him as a prison chaplain, a direct result of Father White continuing to maintain his viral blog.
Father White announced mid-April he had been removed from his posts in Martinsville and Rocky Mount due to concerns about his blog, which is often critical of the Catholic Church’s handling of sexual abuse of minors and calls for more transparency from the Church about who helped cover it up.
In May, Father White says the Bishop changed the locks on both of his churches and the residence in Rocky Mount. However, Father White says he was able to stop the locksmith from changing the lock at the Martinsville residence, so he still has a roof over his head.
The priest decided to submit an appeal to the Vatican regarding the Bishop’s decision to move him.
Father White sent WFXR News a copy of the letter his canonical consultant and advocate, Michael J. Podhajsky, received from the Vatican earlier this month. In that letter, Vatican officials say Father White’s petition against his removal as a pastor for the Diocese of Richmond was filed improperly and thus rejected.
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