So today I was at the Daily Mail and there was a story about Catholic Priest Frank Pavone being laicized.
I read, then re-read, the story and I'm really confused. Apparently Pavone is being ejected from the priesthood for his over-the-top Pro-Life antics on social media. Just last year, Pope Francis proclaimed "abortion is murder." So where's the problem?
Apparently Father Frank put a baby corpse on the alter, then shared the post to social media, to solidify his point. And? Listen, content creators do way worse. Being a social media influencer is a crowded field, you have to do outlandish stunts to gain followers.
You argue that's unbecoming of a priest?
To me, you are a Priest for Life unless you have a secret family or you molest kids. Period.
And half the priests who molested kids are still priests in our diocese.
(I looked it up. I saw that some priests who molested kids were kicked out of the priesthood, but, shockingly, others were simply removed from parish work.)
So using priests molesting kids as the low water mark, how do you kick Pavone out of the priesthood for being outspoken about abortion?
You argue that Pavone does not show humility?
You argue that Pavone is not subserviant?
You argue that Pavone is too political?
AND ???
According to Patheos.com:
'A letter sent to the US bishops on December 13, obtained today by Catholic News Agency, proclaims that Frank Pavone, the founder of Priests for Life, has been dismissed from the priesthood for his “blasphemous communications on social media” and “persistent disobedience to the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop.” This decision was issued by the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy on November 9th. The decision is final and not subject to appeal. Frank Pavone is no longer a priest.'
AND ???
Starting from Pope Francis down, the Catholic Church's number one priority should be to weed out the priests that perpetrated the systemic abuse of children.
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THEIR PRIORITY 50 YEARS AGO.
Instead they worry about grandstanding priests like Father Frank trying to drag the church into the 1990's.