Knestout encouraged White to consider requesting laicization, which is to ask to have his rights and responsibilities as a priest removed.
A laicized or defrocked priest is still a priest in the Catholic Church, but he may no longer wear the clerical collar, perform the sacraments or hear confession.
“He did not give me much time to think over whether or not I wanted to request laicization myself,” White said. “Three weeks later he wrote to inform me that he had written to the Vatican, asking that I be removed from the priesthood.”
White said he was stunned by Knestout’s latest actions.
“Every priest I know, and I know quite a few, is utterly flabbergasted by what the bishop has done,” White said. “The bishop is obliged to discuss the matter in person with me before petitioning Rome, and he never did that.”
White says there is no precedent to his case before the Vatican to be found, but history is rife with examples of priests who have committed despicable acts and were never laicized, remaining priests until they died.
“These days, very few Catholics believe there is a due process in the church’s legal system; it’s all about favors and who you know,” White said. “To be realistic about my prospects at this point, I have to accept that I could receive a letter from the Vatican any day now, telling me I’m out. That will immediately leave me with no income, no health insurance and no pension.
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