I’ve shared a couple thoughts on Google+ about the issue of Fr. Frank Pavone being recalled to the Diocese of Amarillo by his bishop, Bishop Patrick Zurek. Instead of writing up a new blog post covering the same issues, I’m going to copy from what I’ve posted on Google+ into this post. Consider these open letters to Fr. Pavone and those who want to “free” him. To make it clear, I’m not going to cover the canonical issues with the Bishop’s letter, nor with any of the accusations that are floating around. I’m not a canonist (nor would I ever want to be one), and many of the accusations are ridiculous and not worth even mentioning.
First, to those who have the “Free Fr. Frank” page on Facebook:
Dear Free Fr. Frank folks,
I received your email today, and I’d like to respond. No, Fr. Frank Pavone is not being persecuted for being pro-life. No, every pro-life person in america does not need to stand up against his bishop, because it won’t do a thing to “TAKE ACTION FOR THE BABIES!!!” No, I won’t do anything that you want, like sending a letter to his bishop, the Archbishop of San Antonio (who isn’t the boss of the Bishop of Amarillo, sorry), Archbishop Dolan, or the Papal Nuncio’s office.
If you want to help Fr. Frank, stay out of it! If his bishop has some concerns about Fr. Frank, let them sort it out. If you want to help the pro-life cause, go do something! Go pray at an abortuary. Go help at a crisis pregnancy center. Get down on your knees before the Blessed Sacrament and pray to Our Lord and His Mother on behalf of the unborn and their mothers.
Ticking off Bishop Zurek, Archbishop Siller, Archbishop Dolan and the Papal Nuncio won’t do a darn bit of good for the pro-life movement. In fact, it would probably have the opposite effect.
Next, my advice I’d give to Fr. Frank Pavone, if I could:
I have a lot of respect for the pro-life work that Fr. Pavone has done, but I think Phil Lawler at Catholic Culture nails the issues with his fight against his bishop. As a diocesan priest, Fr. Pavone made the same promise I did: obedience to the diocesan bishop. Nowhere in that promise was anything about “unless I have a personal mission in life that I see as more important than being a diocesan priest.” Right now, the best thing Fr. Pavone could do is drop off the radar for a while and serve the Diocese of Amarillo as a diocesan priest, not the head of Priests for Life who incidentally happens to be a diocesan priest.
As an outsider to this particular argument, I don’t know the whole story (neither do those who want to “Free Fr. Frank”), just what Fr. Pavone and the Diocese of Amarillo have chosen to make public. That being said, as a diocesan priest, I take the promise of obedience very seriously, and you do what the the bishop orders unless he orders a priest to do something that is immoral. Fr. Pavone freely took the promise of obedience as a priest in the Archdiocese of New York, and later freely incardinated into the Diocese of Amarillo.
Being recalled to the diocese that he incardinated into is not an immoral act, especially if the bishop has some concerns about the ministry of a priest under his care. In fact, the bishop is doing Fr. Pavone great good if there are problems with how Fr. Pavone practices the priestly ministry. If there are no problems, then we need to trust that Bishop Zurek and Fr. Pavone will work out the differences that led to this conflict, and Fr. Pavone can get back to his pro-life work.
P.S.: I’m usually very open to allowing comments, but one thing I will not allow is bishop bashing. The bishops are the successors of the Apostles, and deserve respect for that reason alone. Yes, they’re fallible human beings, but that doesn’t mean I will allow speculation in my combox that one might be a Mason or influenced by politicians to go against Catholic teaching. So, thank you to all for your comments, but I’m closing this comment box and removing all comments on this post. I should have done that when I first posted, and will use this as a learning experience.
