I was very sad but also confused read this article about Fr. Pavone. He always seemed like a devout priest with a zeal for protection of the unborn. I recall how much Cardinal O’Connor supported him. It’s troubling… and I think we are owed a further report https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253106/vatican-dismisses-father-frank-pavone-from-priesthood but no matter prayer for him and his bishop
I am having an increasing problem in praying for our priests and bishops who are throwing tradition away. Today in church when I heard the words “look not upon our sins but on the faith of Your Church” the thought crossed my mind - what faith even Your Bishops no longer listen and Your Faithful Priests are left under their vow of obedience. Soon there will be no faith to cover our sins.
I understand your frustration. Robert thinks this will be the last straw - that the laiety will not stand for this.
Bishop Strickland's Twitter response to Fr. Pavone's situation. God bless Bishop Strickland for standing up to evil. Bishop J. Strickland @Bishopoftyler Dec 17 The blasphemy is that this holy priest is canceled while an evil president promotes the denial of truth & the murder of the unborn at every turn, Vatican officials promote immorality & denial of the deposit of faith & priests promote gender confusion devastating lives…evil Catholic News Agency @cnalive · Dec 17 #BREAKING | Fr. Frank Pavone, well-known pro-life activist, has been dismissed from the clerical state for “blasphemous communications on social media” and “persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop,” CNA has learned. https://catholicnewsagency.com/news/253106/vatican-dismisses-father-frank-pavone-from-priesthood
I found this little piece by a priest who worked beside Mr Pavone in his Ministry, very, very helpful.
This is very helpful. I have followed this priest Fr Imbarrato for awhile. He does not varnish the truth. He is "a plain blunt man." Much wisdom here.
Now several of the usual suspects want Bishop Strickland got rid of. As someone said "It's like watching the french revolution play out on twitter."
Oh....wow....did he do that. That seems a bit much to me. Wouldn't that mean he was offering the fetus as a sacrifice?
It is very disheartening. My initial thought, is that it is somewhat similar to what was done to Father Grunner. Remember the day after 911, Cardinal Sodano (diplomatic Secretary of State) said Father Grunner was defrocked for pretty much the same thing ( disobedience of his bishop, not being incardinated in that diocese). By a press release. This is exactly what they did to Father Pavone and the message was relayed to the media by another member of the diplomatic corps. This time by the DC nuncio. It angers me, and they also say it cannot be appealed. Little secret here guys... the Pope has the final say when it comes to appeals. Not some nuncio from the diplomatic corps in a press release. Father Pavone said he was incardinated in another diocese and wasn't even notified. Unless I see the documents I will give Father Pavone the benefit of the doubt. I have a hard time believing anything from the diplomatic corps.
Good article from Our Sunday Visitor... The Frank Pavone story is not about abortion Kathryn Jean Lopez December 19, 2022 Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, speaks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington Oct. 1, 2019, after a petition with more than 250,000 signatures calling for Roe v. Wade to be overturned was presented to the court. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn) Please: Be careful — prayerful — about how you react to the news about Father Frank Pavone now becoming Mr. Frank Pavone by order of the Vatican. Try not to see it through a political lens. Step away of any opinions you may have of the Roman pontiff. Know that abortion is the human-rights issue of our time. The priest who ran Priests for Life is still capable of creating an untenable circumstance for himself to continue as a priest. My first reaction was shock on Saturday night as the news broke. I knew he was in trouble, but I didn’t know he was in “Mr. Pavone” kind of trouble. I knew there were things going on in Rome, but, again, you pray that someone who has his heart in the right place would find someone who would help navigate the rough waters, some of which he got himself into. Because he had become so focused on political advocacy, he had lost some of the foundation of his vocation. A diocesan priest is under obedience to his bishop. Every priest is in a similar situation. A religious priest is under obedience of a religious superior. But from every observation, Pavone did not want to be under obedience of a diocesan bishop. You can just go through some of his Twitter files to find examples of Pavone not being pastoral but being a political activist. There was the blasphemy of using an aborted baby as a prop on what was clearly an altar, even if it wasn’t a consecrated one, as Pavone has contended. My second reaction is that, even knowing Pavone was in trouble, of course Catholics in America were going to see this as an attack on Pavone for being unapologetically pro-life. I was at a not-small dinner this fall as he was heralded on screen as being one of the major figures who contributed to the ending of Roe v. Wade. I cringed — as he sat next to me, as it happens. When a priest becomes a celebrity, he needs a strong support system of people who help keep him humble. I have been friendly with Pavone over the years, and I have no knowledge of any spiritual advisers, except Cardinal John O’Connor, but that was long ago now, in Pavone’s early years as a seminarian and priest. Especially when working in the public eye, and on issues as contentious and evil as abortion, we need people who want us to get ourselves and others into heaven, not get the next speaking gig, or raise the next million dollars. Again, I have no insider knowledge on this in particular, but I ran into him frequently over the years, and it was clear some people adored him. And the combination of people adoring you and you and others being convinced you are a victim of persecution can be a dangerous thing. Yes, Christians are often persecuted. It can come with the territory. Often, if you do the right thing, the obstacles are myriad, and enemies arise. But please don’t see this, though, through a lens of right vs. left, of Vatican vs. American Catholics. Bishops in the United States had problems with him. I know one who truly didn’t want to have to see him in trouble. But he had gone rogue. I’ve seen many, some quite imprudently, compare Pavone’s situation to Jesuit Father James Martin. The comparison made is that the Vatican salutes Father Martin for talking about LGBT issues but punishes Pavone for advocating on behalf of the unborn. It’s not that simple. For one, Father Martin is presumably operating with the permission of his religious superior. And the Vatican bureaucracies do not see things as black and white as we might. At the same time, Frank Pavone was not punished because he played a role in ending Roe. He got himself in trouble for not being transparent and wanting to be an independent actor — that’s not the priesthood — and doing some of it quite publicly. This story is tragic. It didn’t have to end this way. But in his immediate response to the news, Pavone described the priesthood as a “profession” and compared himself to the “aborted” — being thrown away and cancelled. Many great saints who suffered actual persecution kept their eyes on Christ and the obedience to which they had submitted themselves. By all indications, Pavone lost sight of this. He did many a beautiful thing over the years — including, by her testimony, helping bring former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson into the Church. But he also forgot who he was. And other people with all the best intentions, in their zeal to protect the unborn and women from abortion, didn’t help things. Please pray for Frank Pavone, that he can do God’s will in this new state in life, and not sow more discord. We all must pray for one another more — enemies and friends. There’s always more going on than we see. And it’s about heaven. Jesus is our only Savior. No one priest or individual or group is ever going to do better. Submit ourselves to him anew.
Thank you Jo. This pretty much explains it. Too bad about Fr Pavone. We really must pray hard for him.
I have to say, while not knowing whether there were money scandals or 'big-headness', I find it very distasteful that this lady refers throughout to 'Pavone'. Imagine being deliberately reduced to a surname. Shocking way to write about anyone.
In journalism, there is often a “style sheet” for a publication that contributing writers follow. This is an example, probably. Plus she may have wanted to avoid calling him “Mr. Pavone” under these circumstances.
