As I remember he went on his own against abortion!
- J
Yes, I saw this on my in - coming today and printed it out for further reading.
By the way, what did Fr. Pavone do to be de-frocked??
GS
August 14, 2024
Today I issued an open letter to the US Catholic bishops about the
election. Besides this link to The Gateway Pundit, who published it for
me, I have included the full text below.
I issued this not because I expect them to be the top leaders in this
effort, but because I want to express to them the convictions that so
many of you and I share about the need for better leadership from the
Church.
I chose today to issue the letter because it is the anniversary of the
death of St. Maximilian Kolbe, a priest who was so vocal against the
evils of a political party – the Nazis – and sent out publications
about them from his monastery -- that he ended up in the Auschwitz
death camp, where he died.
This letter is similar to two other open letters I issued in the past, one in 2020 and another in 2021.
I do not send open letters, by the way, without also communicating with
these bishops privately. The most recent letter I sent to all of them
was a detailed summary of the work Priests for Life is doing, including
in regard to the elections. (You can see these updates here.)
The remaining question many of you will ask is whether I hear back from
these bishops. While some will acknowledge cards I send them for their
birthdays and ordination anniversaries, when it comes to the substance
of these public issues, the answer is simply “no.” They are not willing
to engage in the substance of these topics.
Sadly, instead, we see some of them sideline, intimidate, and cancel
many of the priests who do try to imitate Maximilian Kolbe’s courageous
witness against evil political parties. They even kicked me out of the
priesthood for being “too political.” But that’s not going to shut me
up – not then, not now, not ever.
In the midst of this, you and I must continue to speak and, as Christ’s
disciples, carry on the work we know we are called to do.
Therefore please use this letter as a tool in whatever way is helpful.
Thank you for your commitment. Onward to victory!
Sincerely,
Prolife Leader Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
President, National Pro-life Religious Council
Pastoral Director, Rachel’s Vineyard and Silent No More
An open letter to the United States Catholic hierarchy
Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
August 14, 2024
Your Eminences/Excellencies,
Since 1994, the Priests for Life ministry team, which I continue to
lead and which embodies a wide range of pastoral and political
experience, has addressed our national elections, seeking to articulate
and apply the teachings of the Church to the political realm.
We affirm the Second Vatican Council’s teaching in Gaudium et Spes
which states, “Christ, to be sure, gave His Church no proper mission in
the political, economic or social order. The purpose which He set
before her is a religious one” (42). Yet as you well know, that
statement provides the context for a vigorous exposition of the
Church’s responsibilities to shape temporal realities in accordance
with the Kingdom of God. In articulating those responsibilities, that
same document of the Council goes on to state, "At all times and in all
places, the Church should have the true freedom to teach the faith, to
proclaim its teaching about society, to carry out its task among men
without hindrance and to pass moral judgments even in matters relating
to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of
souls requires it” (76; see also Compendium of the Social Doctrine of
the Church, 426; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2246; “Doctrinal
Note On some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in
political life,” CDF, November 24, 2002, and Code of Canon Law
747 §2).
In a book I wrote in 2015 (Abolishing Abortion, Thomas Nelson
publishing), I document extensively the manner in which that duty of
the faithful, both clerical and lay, to “pass moral judgments even in
matters relating to politics,” has been hindered by the kind of
guidance that dioceses, Catholic Conferences and the USCCB routinely
issue. When, as expressed in many of the diocesan memos I quote,
Catholic Churches and other institutions are told not to “engage in any
political activity which seeks to support or discredit any political
party or candidate” (p.117) one wonders how the moral judgment in
matters relating to politics is to be expressed.
In America’s elections this year, we are not dealing with normal
“political disagreements.” If what divided the political parties were
matters merely of prudential judgment, or policy disagreements that
should be worked out by open debate, trial and error, and the
corrective processes provided by our legislative, executive, and
judicial mechanisms, then the official neutrality of the Church could
be easily understood and implemented.
But that is not where we are right now.
We do not have a division simply on policy, but on principle. Our
political divide is not simply about prudential judgments, but about
‘the fundamental rights of man’ and ‘the salvation of souls’ referred
to by the Second Vatican Council, the Catechism, and numerous other
sources.
The Democrat Party, its current Administration, and its leading
candidates, embrace and promote unrestricted abortion both on the
federal and state level. How, then, is it possible for the Church “to
proclaim its teaching” without discrediting (implicitly if not
explicitly) the political party that so obviously opposes that
teaching? As you well know, St. John Paul II called governments that
legalize abortion “a tyrant state” (EV, 20). That’s pretty discrediting.
How, furthermore, can the Church defend her own religious freedom, the
nature of marriage and the family, the rights of parents over their
children, the duty of nations to protect their citizens at the border
and in their city streets, the rights of voters to free and fair
elections, and the rights of children to be safe from transgender
indoctrination and mutilation, without discrediting the Democrat Party,
which is engaged in an obvious assault on all these rights?
In writing to you about this, I express the concerns not only of
Catholics, but of our brothers and sisters in other Christian
denominations who are strong allies in the fight for life, family and
freedom. Unfortunately, while they have courageously defended the
freedom of churches to preach the Gospel and “to pass moral judgments
even in matters relating to politics,” they have found much of the
response from Catholic religious leaders to be disheartening.
Each year, on August 14th, the Catholic Church honors St. Maximilian
Kolbe, the Polish priest who, in the Auschwitz death camp, sacrificed
his life for another prisoner. However, the part of that inspiring
story that is less well known, and less preached, is that he had
published pamphlets from his monastery against the Nazi party because
of their positions against human dignity and religious freedom.
Moreover, in 2005 the Church beatified Cardinal Clemens von Galen, who
became known for his sermons against that same Nazi party and their
positions against human life and the freedom of the Church. In his
homily at the beatification, Cardinal Martins said,
“In [his homilies, Cardinal von Galen] targeted the obligatory closure
of convents and the arrest of Religious. He spoke vigorously against
the deportation and destruction of those human lives that the regime
deemed unworthy to be lived, that is, the mentally disabled. The
Bishop's fiery words dealt fatal blows to the Nazi's systematic
extermination policy.
“His clear arguments infuriated the Nazi leaders who were at a loss as
to what to do next, because they did not have the nerve to arrest or
kill him due to Bishop von Galen's extraordinary authority.
“It was neither innate courage nor excessive temerity. Only a deep
sense of responsibility and a clear vision of what was right and what
was wrong could have induced Bishop Clemens August to speak these
words. They invite us to reflect on the brilliance of his witness to
faith; in times that may seem less threatening but are just as
problematic with regard to human life, they invite us to imitate his
example.”
Never has the voice of the Church been more needed; everything we stand
for and have fought for is on the line. Yet clergy and laity alike,
when they strive to imitate the example of Kolbe and von Galen, receive
pushback from Church leaders. They are criticized rather than
encouraged, and canceled rather than supported.
Be assured, the voice of the Church will be heard, because as you know
and as you teach, the Church is more than the hierarchy. We know what
is right, we know what the Church teaches, and we know how to win
elections. We just would rather not feel like we’re fighting without
our leaders or, worse, having our leaders fight against us.
Increasingly, too many leaders appear to be both naive and cowardly in
the face of the intense cultural and political battle that rages – a
battle which more and more believers correctly see as a conflict
between good and evil, between commonsense and insanity.
This election is not business as usual, and therefore I have written to
you publicly. Many of the faithful, and I, respectfully hope for
leadership from you that is likewise more than business as usual.
Sincerely,
Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life