A Catholic priest from Wales who admitted discussing bombing mosques and shooting Black people in the head in neo-Nazi online chatrooms has been sentenced to a 12-month community order.
Father Mark Rowles, 57, from Cardiff, was part of an extreme right-wing online group called “Aryan Reich Killers,” where he sent deeply offensive and violent messages about Muslims and Black people.
Rowles used the alias “Skinheadlad1488” in the chatroom, where he wrote about “bombing mosques,” among other Islamophobic and anti-Muslim remarks.
In another message containing racial slurs, he wrote that “they [Muslims] should all be strung up or shot.”
On Thursday 30 October, Rowles — who was the Catholic priest of St John Lloyd Catholic Church in Cardiff — admitted three counts of sending menacing or offensive messages using the Telegram app in May and June 2024.
He was ordered to complete 150 hours of community service, pay a £199 fine, and comply with a Criminal Behaviour Order for three years.
A spokesperson for the Catholic Church in Wales said Rowles had not been active in the ministry since the allegations and charges were brought forward, and that the Church would be conducting its own review.
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Far-right extremism
Rowles was arrested following an investigation by counter-terrorism police into far-right activity on social media.
The court heard that Rowles described himself as a 16-year-old “skinhead neo-Nazi” and a “loner” in his online profile. His display image reportedly showed a young white man wearing a face covering, with a German flag and the words “right hand path always,” a reference to esoteric Christian beliefs.
Prosecutor Rob Simkins told the court that the messages were explicitly “hostile based on religion and race.”
Rowles was traced, arrested, and identified by counter-terrorism officers who tracked his activity on the Telegram app.
In another discussion thread in the neo-Nazi chatroom, he wrote about the ethnicity of Londoners, saying that “a few bullets to their brains would help.”
During police interviews, Rowles claimed he was not a racist and said he had joined the far-right online groups because he was lonely and had a “sexual fetish for role play.”
Defence lawyer Jacqui Seal said: “Clearly this is a disturbing case. Throughout his life in the Catholic Church he has never been the subject of a complaint or disciplinary action. He has no previous convictions.”
A spokesperson for the Catholic Church in Wales reiterated that Rowles has not been active in the ministry since the allegations and that a Church investigation is ongoing.
