Extreme anti-abortion priest defrocked after foetus stunt and pro-Trump sermons | CPT PPP Coverage

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An extreme anti-abortion priest in the US was defrocked after his pro-Donald Trump sermons and a stunt involving a foetus. Frank Pavone was punished in November after his “persistent disobedience”

An anti-abortion priest in the US has been booted out of the Catholic Church after “blasphemous communications” which included a video of him with an aborted foetus on a church altar.

Frank Pavone was defrocked after his “persistent disobedience” against the Church and has since claimed he will continue his “war” against abortion.

He is reported to have repeatedly ignored the directions of his bishop who told him to drop his activism for former President Donald Trump.

Pavone, who heads the anti-abortion group Priests for Life, had been on rocky terms with the church for several years due to several incidents.

He had relocated after a feud with a bishop in Amarillo, Texas and upped sticks to Colorado Springs, Colorado. Restrictions were placed on him in 2011 by Amarillo Bishop Patrick Zurek, but he appealed successfully.

In 2016, Pavone posted a video on social media of a foetus on a church altar and used it to criticise Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party.

He argued only Trump wanted to protect unborn children. Since he was thrown out of the church, he has compared his treatment to that given to an unborn baby.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre announced the decision and the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy wrote: “Rev Frank Pavone, the founder of the organization, Priests for Life, Inc., was dismissed from the clerical state by the Holy See on 9 November 2022.

“This action was taken after Father Pavone was found guilty in canonical proceedings of blasphemous communications on social media, and of persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop.”

The decision was taken on November 9 this year and there is no chance of an appeal. Pavone had also backed Trump’s false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen and the Amarillo diocese had distanced themselves from their priest’s views.

In response to his dismissal, Pavone said: “So in every profession, including the priesthood, if you defend the #unborn, you will be treated like them! The only difference is that when we are ‘aborted,’ we continue to speak, loud and clear.”

Some in the church backed Pavone and the bishop of Tyler, Texas, Joseph Strickland, said Pavone had been “cancelled,” while also attacking President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion and issues of gender.

He tweeted: “The blasphemy is that this holy priest is cancelled while an evil president promotes the denial of truth & the murder of the unborn at every turn, Vatican officials promote immorality & denial of the deposit of faith & priests promote gender confusion devastating lives… evil.”

Abortion in the US remains a divisive issue, after the overturning of Roe v Wade, a ruling that gave a constitutional right to an abortion, by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

A recent FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos poll shows the majority of Americans believe in having legal access to abortions, but that view can be complicated.