Priests – in the Catholic, Orthodox, and other traditions – can be good or bad, like political leaders. The Catholic Church has suffered ample scandal, confirming humanity’s fragility. But sometimes, a priest – like any good leader – stands up, takes the hit. That just happened. I am not Catholic, but watching good people speak truth, consequences be damned, lifts a soul.
Father Frank Pavone is the “national director of the influential pro-life ministry” called “Priests for Life.” He believes a child developing in the womb is a child. Hoping to save young lives, preserve the peace of those wrestling abortion, he has not worked to legislate society’s roles but to educate struggling souls.
A critic of those who compromise on “life,” advocate for those who suffer and gain from childbearing’s joy and pain, he believes humans are not God, that ending the life of a child growing in the womb is a grave error.
Setting him apart, he also believes that how people think about this issue, where they stand, how they assess what is right and wrong, worth the effort and not, how they view God’s providence, the gift of human life, reflects how seriously they take their faith.
Without beating around the bush, he says the Catholic Church’s stand – never mind yours or mine – on abortion’ wrongness represents a fundamental battle “for the soul of the Catholic Church.” In other words, he stakes his claim, makes the case, and cannot support abortion.
One might think this a simple thing, and frankly most clergy in most churches, indeed most parishioners, would have thought the same a hundred years ago, but not today – not in the world he sees. Today, he is a lightning rod, struck down by a chorus of critics, even within the Church.
In a stunning turn, he has been defrocked – or summarily “laicized” – by the Church, and in a startlingly disingenuous way, faulting his humanity, using it as a sword, far from the ideal of forgiveness. According to the Vatican, he was dismissed for “blasphemous communications on social media, and for persistent disobedience of lawful instructions from his diocesan bishop.”
What did he do? Beyond opposing abortion, he voiced frustration at the 2020 election process, and used the word “g**damn” in a tweet. For this offense, he apologized, confessed, and – one would think – was forgiven. Only not quite, not by those who resent this voice for life, engagement in modern strife, who think it odd, so declared him intolerable – on behalf of God.
While distressed, this priest seems poised. He says many support his work “at the heart of the church,” although “A certain segment of bishops…have really been doing everything they can to put obstacles in the way of this work and of my doing this work…They see the influence our ministry has…and feel they cannot control it.” He is measured.
Bottom line: Summary dismissal of moral convictions and moral people is becoming the norm. This defrocking is an ugly turn. Faith in a loving God – even defense of right and wrong – is under fire. Those who speak for rights – including life – should not be vilified. If society is to persevere, we must learn to hear – those of heart. That is not an end, just a start. I am not Catholic, but watching good people speak truth, consequences be damned – lifts a soul.