Frank Pavone, a popular Catholic priest, and leader of the US-based anti-abortion organization, "Priests for Life " was dismissed from the priesthood on Nov.9 by the Vatican, according to a letter
from the Pope's representative to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre.
The letter dated December, 13 which was obtained by The New York Times disclosed that Fr. Pavone was removed without a possibility of appeal.
“This action was taken after Father Pavone was found guilty in canonical proceedings of blasphemous communications on social media, and of persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop,” it states.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio, addressed the letter to bishops, alerting them of the decision from the Vatican.
“As you will know, Father Pavone was a very public and high-profile figure associated with the Right to Life Movement in the U.S.,” Archbishop Pierre states. “His dismissal from the clerical state may, therefore, be a matter of interest among the faithful. In anticipation of that potential interest, the attached statement regarding Father Pavone is provided for your information.”
The statement said that Fr. Pavone was given “ample opportunity to defend himself” as well as “multiple opportunities to submit himself to the authority of his diocesan bishop.”
“It was determined that Father Pavone had no reasonable justification for his actions,” it says.
The statement further said that the future of Fr. Pavone’s role at the anti-abortion group, "Priests for Life" would be entirely up to the group, which it described as “not a Catholic organization.”
The letter did not specify those communications or instructions he disobeyed or the name of the diocesan bishop, and his anti-abortion activism was not mentioned in the letter as the reason for his dismissal.
Reacting to the development via phone on Sunday morning, Fr. Pavone said that he was waiting to be properly notified of the decision.
“I’m waiting for them to point out to me what I did wrong that merits something like this,” Fr. Pavone said, adding that he and his allies “would have to appeal to the next Pope” and “to the people of God.”
His dismissal was first reported on Saturday night by the conservative news outlet, Catholic News Agency.
Shortly after the report, Fr. Pavone said on a live broadcast on social media that he would continue his work for the anti-abortion cause.
“I’ve been persecuted in the church for decades, decades. This is nothing new for me,” he said. “They just don’t like the work I’m doing for these babies.”
“I used the word G-D in a response to somebody in a tweet and for that, they want to throw me out of the priesthood,” he said.
In his broadcast, Fr. Pavone said, “You can’t cancel this message, you won’t silence this message. It’s only going to grow. We’re only going to get louder.”
On Twitter on Saturday night, Fr. Pavone wrote: “In every profession, including the priesthood, if you defend the #unborn, you will be treated like them! The only difference is that when we are ‘aborted,’ we continue to speak, loud and clear.”
Anti-abortion activists react.
Other anti-abortion activists have risen in defense of Fr. Pavone, following the report of his dismissal.
The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Marjorie Dannenfelser described Fr. Pavone as “the one priest devoted most over the years” to taking action and building support for the anti-abortion cause," saying that she would continue to work with him going forward.
“He and I see it the same way: This is the very beginning of the pro-life movement, and he has only just gotten started,” she said.
The executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, Eric Scheidler said it was “hard to see an organization called Priests for Life headed by a man who’s not recognized as a priest by any local bishop.”
Fr. Pavone's dismissal comes a month after the Catholic bishops of the United States said they would step up their efforts to end abortion and elected new leaders who are expected to maintain the hardline stance of the hierarchy.
Father Frank Pavone, was once a religious adviser to former President Donald J. Trump, and among those who questioned the 2020 US presidential election result.
Religion
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