The Vatican has dismissed American anti-abortion priest Frank Pavone for what it said were “blasphemous social media communications” as well as “persistent disobedience” by his bishop.
A letter to American bishops from the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, said the decision against Pavone, who heads the anti-abortion group Priests for Life, had been made and that there was no possibility of appeal.
Pavone had been investigated by his then-diocese of Amarillo, Texas, for placing an aborted fetus on an altar and posting a video of it on two social media sites in 2016. The video was accompanied by a post that said that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party would allow abortion to continue and that Donald Trump and the Republicans wanted to protect unborn children.
Pavone remains a staunch Trump supporter. His Twitter handle shows him wearing a Wizard’s hat with a background photo of the former US president, whom many conservatives praise for his Supreme Court nominees who overturned the landmark decision guaranteeing the constitutional right to abortion in the US.
Pavone was defiant in a tweet on Sunday, comparing his fate to that of unborn children. “So in all professions, including the priesthood, if you stand up for the unborn, you will be treated like them! The only difference is that when we ‘abort’ we keep talking, loud and clear.”
His supporters immediately denounced the move, including Tyler, Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland, who referred to Joe Biden’s support for abortion rights as “evil.”
Pavone had appealed to the Vatican over restrictions placed on his ministry in 2011 by Amarillo’s bishop, got the restrictions eased and moved out of Texas while remaining active with Priests for Life.
In his letter, Pierre cited information from the Congregation for the Clergy that Pavone had been found guilty in a canonical proceeding “of blasphemous communications on social networks and persistent disobedience to the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop.” The letter was first reported by the Catholic News Agency.
The statement says Pavone was given “ample opportunities to defend himself” as well as submit to his bishop.
The statement concluded that because Priests for Life is not a Catholic organization, the group would have to determine whether it could continue its role “as a lay person.”
Laicization, or being reduced to a lay state, is one of the harshest sanctions of the church’s canon law.