Va. Priest's Double Life Devastates Parishioners: ; Embezzlement, Secret Family Leaves Churchgoers Stunned, Bewildered

Summary

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The Rev. Rodney L. Rodis never healed the sick, much less turned water into wine. But some say he performed at least one minor miracle as the head of two small Catholic churches in central Virginia.

When he arrived in Louisa County as a substitute priest 14 years ago, the congregation was divided and attendance was near an all- time low. Yet, Rodis, a charismatic native of the Philippines with a round face, laughing eyes and Cheshire cat grin, united parishioners at Immaculate Conception in Buckner and St. Jude in Mineral, building church rolls to nearly 360 families and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for capital improvements,

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Va. Priest's Double Life Devastates Parishioners: ; Embezzlement, Secret Family Leaves Churchgoers Stunned, Bewildered

"He just absolutely wowed everybody," said parishioner Phil Scoggin, 73, who retired to the area from Great Falls with his wife. "I don't think I ever met a layman or a priest that I thought was a better Christian than him."

But now p...

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