RICHMOND (VA)
WTKR - CBS 3 [Hampton Roads VA]
June 29, 2024
Former pastor assigned as priest-in-residence in Dinwiddie
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A pastor at a Catholic Church in Virginia Beach has been reassigned, according to a diocese announcement.
The reassignment announcement comes after St. John the Apostle School notified parents about accusations of abuse made against a parent at the school.
That parent is now deceased.
Following the accusations, the Diocese of Richmond—which oversees parishes in Hampton Roads—said it would remove the pastor, Fr. Rob Cole.
But parishioners fought to have Fr. Cole reinstated.
In a June 27 post, the Diocese of Richmond, on its website, said Fr. Rob Cole had been reassigned as priest-in-residence at a cluster of parishes: St. John Nepomucene, Dinwiddie; St. James, Hopewell; and Church of the Sacred Heart, Prince George, effective July 1, 2024.
In the announcement, the diocese also said the pastor at St. Gabriel parish in Chesterfield, and Good Samaritan church in Amelia, has been assigned as pastor to St. John the Apostle parish, also effective July 1.
Up until now, the pastor at Star of the Sea Catholic Church at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront has been filling in as pastor at St. John the Apostle.
The diocese has not said why Fr. Cole was removed.