(PatriotWise.com) – Defrocked Catholic priest Frank Pavone claimed that he is in a battle “for the soul of the Catholic Church” and accused some US bishops of softening their pro-life position out of fear of offending powerful Democrat politicians.
Last month, the Vatican’s Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy defrocked Pavone without the possibility of appeal over some of his social media posts the church considered “blasphemous.”
The pope’s US representative, Archbishop Christophe Pierre notified US bishops that Pavone was dismissed in a December 13 letter, the Catholic News Agency reported last weekend.
In the letter, Archbishop Pierre said Pavone had been given “ample opportunity to defend himself” and “multiple opportunities to submit himself to the authority of his diocesan bishop.”
Pavone said last weekend that he received no notification of the Vatican’s decision. Instead, he only found out he had been defrocked when he read the report in the Catholic News Agency.
Pavone was found guilty of “blasphemous communications on social media, and of persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop,” Pierre’s letter said.
Since 2016, Pavone has made social media posts in support of the Republican Party. He has also used social media to question the 2020 presidential election and disparage Democrat lawmakers.
Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, told Fox News Digital that some US Catholic bishops have softened their pro-life message so they don’t “offend” powerful Democrat politicians.
He said that some in the Catholic hierarchy were upset about a comment he made when arguing with a Biden supporter on Twitter after the 2020 election. In the tweet, Pavone used “g*ddamn.”
Pavone said he went to confession and admitted his foul language, telling Fox he should not have said it, “but that’s the world we live in. We get angry.”
After he was defrocked, Pavone, who once served as one of former President Donald Trump’s religious advisors, retweeted several statements of support.
Copyright 2023, PatriotWise.com
