In a screenshot from the Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy chapel's Facebook page, the Rev. Frank Watts celebrates the New Year's Day mass, Jan. 1, 2023. Watts has filed IG complaints alleging fraud and reprisal by the base’s lead chaplain, who the priest says targeted him over the last year leading to the base’s decision not to renew his contract. (Facebook/NAS Sigonella Chapel)
NAPLES, Italy — A priest who worked at Naval Air Station Sigonella for over a decade contends in a recent complaint filed with the Defense Department Inspector General that his impending dismissal is an act of reprisal by a military chaplain.
The Rev. Frank Watts submitted the complaint April 17, saying he was singled out for punishment and other unfair treatment over the last year. Those actions in turn led to the Sicily base’s refusal to renew his contract, which expires May 31, he said.
Watts said he never was informed of the decision by NAS Sigonella’s chaplaincy but learned about it through an email sent earlier this month by a base office responsible for contracts.
The chaplain whom Watts accuses of retaliating against him is on leave and wasn’t immediately available to comment Wednesday. NAS Sigonella did not respond to a request to interview the chaplain.
A new contract for a priest “will be up for bid to those who are interested in serving the NAS Sigonella Catholic community,” Lt. j.g. Andrea Perez, a base spokeswoman, said Wednesday. “Our goal is to avoid any lapse in support to our Catholic community.”
The reprisal allegation stems from an April 2023 disagreement between Watts and the chaplain about control over, and spending, of Sunday offerings from parishioners, according to Watts.
The chaplain wanted to use some of those funds for a project that was incompatible with the Sigonella Catholic community’s traditional charitable outreach, said Watts, who has served at Sigonella since 2013.
Watts said he challenged the chaplain’s effort to control how contributions were spent. Not long after, he found himself being called into the chaplain’s office on allegations of rule violations, such as failing to meet office hour requirements, he said.
Watts said he signed a couple of disciplinary write-ups, including one for allowing his wife to use his computer with his DOD identification card, or CAC, inserted while she did ministry volunteer work.
However, he did not sign others because they were false, Watts said.
The chapel at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy. A longtime priest at Sigonella has filed separate IG complaints alleging fraud and reprisal by the base’s lead chaplain, who the priest says targeted him over the last year leading to the base’s decision not to renew his contract. (Facebook/NAS Sigonella Chapel)
Watts married while he was an Anglican clergyman, prior to his conversion in 2011. He served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force from 2002-2011, according to a June 2013 story in Sigonella’s The Signature.
The failure to renew his contract also may be related to questions he asked about falsification of financial records and abuse of authority, Watts said.
He made a separate complaint to the Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central Inspector General in Naples about those issues on April 12.
On Wednesday, the office said it would not investigate the matter and would refer it to base commander Capt. Aaron Shoemaker, according to an excerpt of an email from the Naples IG’s office that Watts shared with Stars and Stripes.
Subsequent emails from the contracting office to Watts said work performance issues were why his contract wasn’t renewed, and that his contract no longer met the needs of the department.
Watts countered the work performance contention by citing his many years of service at the base. He celebrated 287 Masses in 2023, according to data he provided to Stars and Stripes. That same year, he also performed three baptisms, 12 first communions and 10 confirmations, according to the data.
“I can prove I’ve been doing my contract,” Watts said. “I have a 10-year-long record of performance.”
NAS Sigonella confirmed that Watts’ contract will end next month, adding that an option to renew it for a year won’t be exercised.
Shoemaker will meet Thursday with Catholics in the base community to address concerns and questions, Perez said.
The contract for Sigonella’s Catholic religious education program director also was allowed to lapse without renewal. Base officials didn’t answer questions about that decision.
Alicia Fabbri, a civilian worker at the base, said she is concerned about the lack of transparency in the decision not to renew Watts’ contract. Base officials have not explained to her and other parishioners the reasoning behind the decision, she said.
In addition, the possibility that Mass services may be reduced from five weekly to just one is troubling, as is the potential for youth programs to be disrupted, she said.
The congregation has 30 to 40 children, some of whom are preparing for their first Communion or looking forward to attending summer camp.
“To me, that plainly communicates you are not familiar with the needs of the Catholic community,” said Fabbri, who also filed an IG complaint alleging that Watts was subjected to discrimination and retaliation. “We are not just a Sunday-only congregation.”
A gap in services jeopardizes the mission readiness of the base, Fabbri said, adding that the remote location and high operating tempo make an assignment at NAS Sigonella challenging for service members and civilians alike, she said.
“Without religious and spiritual support, it’s very difficult,” she said. “I don’t know that we could stay here without that.”
