Celebrity priest Father Larry Richards is scheduled to conduct a parish mission April 8 – 11 at St. Michael Catholic Church in St. Michael, Minnesota.
The mission comes a time when Fr. Richards is under a cloud of controversy, including reportedly threatening parishioners at his home parish as well as being named as a defendant in an impending defamation lawsuit.
Life Site News reported earlier this week that Fr. Richards warned his congregation during a recent Sunday homily that he knows who has issued complaints against him to his local bishop because “the bishop called me and told me your names,” adding that the complainers “endanger” their “eternal salvation.” The incident left one parishioner in tears.
In addition, Life Site News has reported that The Catholic media agency Church Militant is filing a lawsuit against Richards and his home diocese after Richards falsely accused them of sending him death threats.
Finally, the president of Life Site News recently shared a disturbing encounter he personally had with Fr. Larry Richards at a parish mission.
Concerns raised about Fr. Larry Richard’s participation in the upcoming parish mission at St. Michael Catholic Church have apparently fallen on deaf ears. The parish pastor, Fr. Peter Richards (no relationship to Fr. Larry Richards), has reportedly rebuffed worries raised about Fr. Larry’s involvement in the Mission. Michael Voris, President of Church Militant, recently stated that organizations who continue to sponsor Fr. Larry Richards events open themselves up to potential legal action now that Richards has a demonstrated tract record of making slanderous statements.