WRIC Father Mark White
A Virginia priest could be removed from priesthood. He continued to blog about the Catholic Church sex abuse scandals even after the Catholic Diocese of Richmond Bishop ordered him to keep quiet.8News first began digging into this story back in early 2020. Father Mark White at first obeyed an order to stop blogging. However, he restarted the online conversation once COVID hit and in-person church services halted. That has now prompted Bishop Barry Knestout to take their battle to Pope Francis.
The dispute heated up when in a surprise move, Bishop Knestout suddenly showed up at St. Francis of Assisi in Rocky Mount and took over mass. Father Mark White was the pastor at the Church. He also served as Pastor at St. Joseph’s in Rocky Mount.
During the televised service Bishop Knestout told viewers, “Father White and I are at odds.” In the video shared with 8News, you see Pastor White is forced to stand in the background. The Bishop went on to say, “Father White claims that I injured him. I claimed earlier that he injured me.”
Shortly after that mass, White was locked out of the churches, his apartments, and essentially kicked to the curb.