Frank Pavone Ordered To Suspend Work But Does Not Face Any Charges, According To Bishop

By David Gibson
Religion News Service

(RNS) Just days after prominent anti-abortion activist Rev. Frank Pavone was ordered to suspend his work as head of Priests for Life, Pavone and his bishop, Patrick J. Zurek of Amarillo, Texas, are seeking a way out of the tense standoff.

Pavone told reporters in Amarillo that he was seeking to be "incardinated," or authorized to work, in another diocese, presumably one where he could continue his 18-year role as head of the New York-based Priests for Life.

"I do not foresee myself staying incardinated in Amarillo," Pavone said Wednesday (Sept. 14) before celebrating Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Amarillo. "It's a sensitive issue. We're working it out behind the scenes."

At the same time, church officials in Amarillo sought to tone down the harsh rhetoric that Zurek had used in a Sept. 9 letter to U.S. bishops in which he referred to questions about the group's finances, and said Pavone's work has "inflated his ego with a sense of self-importance." On Thursday, Monsignor Harold Waldow, the diocese's vicar of clergy and Zurek's point man in negotiations with Pavone, sent a letter to Priests for Life clarifying that Pavone remains "a priest in good standing." The
bishop's suspension order, he said, "does not mean that Father Pavone is being charged with any malfeasance or being accused of any wrongdoing." "I must say every time I've had conversations with Father Frank and asked him to do whatever the bishop might be requiring ... he's always been very positive in his response," Waldow told the Amarillo Globe-News on Tuesday.

He added that Pavone and Zurek "are both very strong personalities." Waldow noted that many other bishops support Zurek and share his concerns about Pavone's largely independent oversight of Priests for Life's annual $10 million budget.

But Pavone has a loyal and influential following in the hierarchy as well, and his international standing as an anti-abortion crusader has brought him the kind of popular renown -- and devotion -- that Zurek cannot match.

The Center For Bio-Ethical Reform, an anti-abortion group known for displaying graphic signs at anti-abortions demonstrations, announced it would picket parishes in Amarillo in a "Free Father Frank!" campaign to release Pavone "from what amounts from ecclesiastical 'house arrest,"' as Gregg Cunningham, the group's executive director, put it. "A global battle is raging within Catholicism between clerics who believe the church should do more to fight abortion and those who believe the church should do less," he said. "With Bishop Zurek's confused and confusing decision to sideline Father Pavone's pro-life ministry, the fault line in this divisive dispute now runs directly through the center of Amarillo."

Pavone told Catholic News Agency that he would consider starting a religious order or society -- something akin to the Franciscans, Jesuits or the lay movement Opus Dei -- if he could not find a bishop willing to back his full-time anti-abortion advocacy.

On Friday, Pavone sent a private message to supporters thanking them for their support, adding that he was not discouraged as he continues fighting abortion from his home in Amarillo.

"I'm here because cooperating with church authority at this moment is the best way to preserve the mission I lead to save these children, a mission aimed precisely at increasing the church's awareness of and response to this holocaust."

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Comments

[Christopher Huber]

01:35 PM on 09/28/2011

What is known is Father Frank Pavone is a good man. He heads an organization that was respected by JPII. What is apparent is that his Bishop wants him to stay more in Texas. This could be due to concern or could be due to jealousy. Father Frank could be on the short list to be a Bishop, and his Bishop doesn't like it. It may be that his Bishop wants control of the 10 million dollar budget. That is not an off the wall statement, Bishop Sheen was told to end his TV programs because he wouldn't use his organization's money to purchase & pay for FREE POWDERED MILK. Cardinal Cooke had a "fund raising scheme" & Sheen wouldn't play ball. Pavone could have ran into the same type of problem.
I appeal to Rome. Make Fr. Pavone the Bishop of the Titular See of Ephesus. Problem will be solved, & Priests for Life will have its proper standing.

[Semper Veritas]

12:54 PM on 09/19/2011

On September 13, 2011, it was widely misreporte­d in various Catholic and secular media that the Most Reverend Patrick Zurek, Bishop of Amarillo, had “suspended­” Rev. Frank Pavone, a priest of his diocese, and put him “on leave.”

This is absolutely false.

Father Pavone is and has been a priest in good standing. Moreover, the canonical language of “suspensio­n” in this regard is a mistake. Father Pavone has not in any way incurred any ecclesiast­ical penalty. Nor is Father Frank under the threat of any penalty.

I want to point out that in a Catholic News Service story dated September 14, 2011, Msgr. Harold Waldow, vicar for clergy in the diocese of Amarillo, confirmed Fr. Pavone’s good standing:

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, remains a priest in good standing in the Diocese of Amarillo, Texas, said Msgr. Harold Waldow, vicar for clergy in the diocese. Msgr. Waldow told CNS Sept. 13 that Bishop Patrick J. Zurek only suspended Father Pavone’s ministry outside of the diocese because the well-known pro-life priest is needed for work in Amarillo.

Today, Father Pavone—as a priest in good standing—c­elebrated Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Amarillo, Texas. See photos below.

Fr David Deibel, JD, JCL
Chief Canonist
Priests for Life

Source:http://bit­.ly/b6kPyS

[Semper Veritas]

12:46 PM on 09/19/2011

Franciss1 said: "Now we are talking about transferri­ng a Priest who stole money from an organizati­on."

This is absolutely ERRONEOUS.

Father Pavone has not been charged with "stealing money" or convicted of "stealing money," nor is anyone talking about "transferring him." Please be careful not to harm the reputation of another human being unnecessarily.

What is alleged in Franciss1's post is detraction, at the very least. If is intentionally deceptive, it is calumny, as any "third generation devout Catholic" would know.

Semper Veritas implores you: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

[BRADNSC]

07:26 PM on 09/18/2011

Priests for Life and Father Frank Pavone have been very slow in embracing the true ethics of the Catholic Church and the Magesterium with regard to all "life related issues" but they finally did so and somewhat reluctantly at that. They still put abortion as their number one issue and sideline many of the other issues. What I am speaking about is the "seamless garment" teaching of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in that "all life is sacred" which is reflected in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "from the moment of conception to a natural death..." That means euthanasia, the DEATH PENALTY, genetic cloning or manipulation (e.g. designer babies, artificial insemination, racial genocide, and other global life issues). I am a priest and I had written to Fr. Pavone many times over the fact that Priests for Life needed to address these other issues in order to be consistent with the Churches teachings on life. After years of writing, I finally got one reply from him. A few years ago, Priests for Life finally came out with a statement AGAINST the DEATH PENALTY. But I think the fact that many people see the group as "mono-issue" may lead people to think dubiously about their operations.

[sweetlilthing]

08:27 PM on 09/18/2011

"very slow in embracing " ? I guess so since Pavone tried to establish his own religious order! That really could not have gone over very well with the Catholic Church. Since Pavone is a very good fund raiser, I'm sure the Church wouldn't bite off their nose to spite their face. The Church didn't have a problem with his "Mono- issue" all these years ... now it seems more like a "money issue".

[garybob]

02:18 PM on 09/20/2011

How would Pavone starting a religious order hurt the Church? The religious orders are part of the Church.

[James Layne]

06:08 PM on 09/19/2011

Sorry, I don't agree with you at all. There are many groups in the Catholic Church that have particular charisms. For some, their ministry is dedicated to spiritual aid for death row inmates. Others advocate against use of the death penalty, or against the prevalence of its use that is currently the case. Just because Father Pavone's charism is to focus on the issue of abortion doesn't give you a right to judge that he doesn't care about other life issues. Sometimes when you lose your focus, your effort suffers as a result. There is a far greater consensus, for example, among Christians that abortion is a violation of the sanctity of life and should be stopped. It's hardly a blameworthy thing that a priest then focuses upon that issue and gives his life and ministry to advancing that cause. If your way of looking at things are correct, every organization should be condemned for not focusing on every issue that remotely deals with the same subject matter it advocates upon. Would you say by the same logic that Catholics Against Capital Punishment ought to stop advocating simply against the death penalty and start equally focusing on abortion and euthanasia?

[Semper Veritas]

12:09 PM on 09/20/2011

Well said, Mr. Layne.

[drwho13]

06:44 AM on 09/18/2011

It seem simple enough to me. Have a independent CPA firm conducted an audit. Certainly the bishop is not so stupid as to accept an internal audit conducted by the the priest in question. If the priest comes up clean he moves on with his work; if he is not he has a legal mater to deal with.

Does anyone remember Fr. John Corapi from the Society of our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT?)

[goatini]

12:30 PM on 09/22/2011

Formerly Fr J Corapi, now known as the "BlackSheepDog".

The hubris of the ETWN Rock Star Priests knows no bounds.

[Victoria Lanier]

03:46 AM on 09/25/2011

To clarify, Priests for Life claims to submit annually to an independent audit by a highly respected accounting firm, and to verify the legitimacy of this claim (in response to the recent allegations of financial misconduct) they have posted the proof - as in the documentation of the actual audit - on their web site.

http://www.priestsforlife.org/audit.htm

[krissyknoxltn]

01:44 AM on 09/18/2011

I have spoken quite a few times with Father Frank. He is an upstanding priest without an "ego" problem. If he has a large budget, so what -- it's certainly needed in America to end abortion. I consider abortion to be the biggest scourge in our country. Our preborn brothers and sisters are dying before they are born. Now, getting back to Fr Frank, he has been supported by Rome for years and John Paul II gave him an official pro-life ministry. Now, I'm going to make a few statements, as I see some statements in the comments below that are already in contradiction to what the article above states. This articlle states that the Diocese Vicor, Monsignor Waldow, says that Fr Frank Pavone is still "a priest in good standing" and that the Bishop's order to suspend Fr Frank's work for "Priests For Life "does not mean that Father Pavone is being charged with any malfeasance or being accused of any wrongdoing." Finally Waldow commented to the Amarillo Globe News, "I must say every time I've had conversations with Father Frank and asked him to do whatever the bishop might be requiring ... he's always been very positive in his response,"
Thank you all for understanding what a cooperative and good priest Fr Frank Pavone is!
i am also for the unborn babies! http://sometimesithink-krissy.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/krissyknox

[krissyknoxltn]

01:56 AM on 09/18/2011

@Gale Routh The verses you quote prove exactly the opposite of what you say, from a Biblical viewpoint, that is. If you want to use the Bible for your source I will use it back! What 5:11-31 is saying is that if you are "with child" or pregnant, and someone causes you to lose your child (hence "cause you to miscarriage") he or she is causing an abortion! He or she is causing you to abort your baby. This was a crime in the Old Testament. Why? Because you are aborting a baby (expelling a baby) from a mom's womb. In many states in America, aborting a baby in this way is also a crime. It's not usually called abortion though, it is called "murder", which abortion should really be called, IMHO. Anyway, as I stated, in the case of many states in the US it's often called murder. Watch on the news nowadays -- if the husband kills his wife and their unborn child it is often called the crime of TWO murders. That is what he will be charged w two murders. It is happening more and more these days. Causing abortions by wacking a mom with a car and killing her baby, or wacking her off and killing both of them, will tell everyone how many abortions (murders) you committed.
krissyknox (a protector of the unforn)
http://sometimesithink-krissy.blogspot.com
follow krissy on twitter: www.twitter.com/krissy knox

[Gale Routh]

09:13 AM on 09/18/2011

sorry, your nonsensical cop-out and diatribe is annoying, and the 1984 NIV proves you wrong, or to your backwards mind that 1984 niv is not a bible?

NIV 1984 footnote from numbers 5:11-31 said.
" Numbers 5:21 Or causes you to have a miscarryin­g womb and barrenness­"
to cause a miscarryin­g womb is an abortion..­..this verse is an ruse for an abortion.

this footnote explained what to "thy thigh to rot, thy belly to swell" meant, after the priest gave a woman"bitter water" that causes a "curse" to test so-called infidelity...sorry, but when in reality does herbs or whatever was in that water had the power to detect lies? NEVER!

abortion and fetucide are TWO different things.

"Abortion refers to the termination of pregnancy at any stage that does not end with live birth" wiki

"the killing of a fetus; especially illegal abortion."
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/feticide

abortion or even fetucide is what you are talking about, was not crime in the old testament because fetuses had no value, only babies from a month old did.

Leviticus 27:6, Numbers 3:15

so are you trying to fool yourself because you are not fooling me?

the man is changed with murder of the woman and fetucide, the opposite or abortion by law.

[LMPE]

05:53 PM on 09/17/2011

Yeah, it's best to let these creeps get off scot free.

[john1513]

01:09 PM on 09/20/2011

Do you know Father Pavone?

[franciss1]

05:34 PM on 09/17/2011

I am a third generation devout Catholic who has had a lifetime of wonderful experiences with the clergy for over sixty years, but I am appalled that those in charge feel that Priests are above the law. Did we not learn anything during the pedophile scandal.Cardinal Laws who continued to transfer pedophile Priests is now serving in the Vatican when he should have been charged. Now we are talking about transferring a Priest who stole money from an organization. What is wrong with our leaders? We are slowly regressing to the days when the Church allowed unbridled corruption. What gives?

[KennebunkportIndependent]

01:54 AM on 09/18/2011

Perhaps you should address  your questions to your bishop; or leave.  Being Catholic demands obedience and unquestioning faith.  Read your Catechism.

[drwho13]

06:19 PM on 09/19/2011

"Back in my day, we had NINE planets." Which one are you living on?

[john1513]

01:09 PM on 09/20/2011

You do not understand the Catechism.

[krissyknoxltn]

02:34 AM on 09/18/2011

Where do you read that Fr Frank stole money from the Church? I have researched Fr Frank online tonight, and everwhere I have read, it says that he does not take a salary from Priests For Life, which is a 501c3 organization. He lives an itinerant lifestyle. If you are going to say such things about Fr Frank, please back them up.
my main blog: http://sometimesithink-krissy.blogspot.com
find krissy on twitter: www.twitter.com/krissyknox

[john1513]

01:10 PM on 09/20/2011

franciss1 is throwing stones and asking questions later.

[giftsthatpurr]

11:41 AM on 09/23/2011

He has a 10Mil budget - why would he need to steal? I can only surmise what good that amount of money could do for living, breathing poor children; kids in foster care; kids that need counseling due to molestation. Now THAT would be charitable.