Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Fr. Frank Pavone has ministry restricted to Diocese of Amarillo



Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life, has been recalled to his diocese of Amarillo, Texas by Bishop Patrick Zurek.  The concern is related to financial matters, not to anything sexual.  We  must proceed cautiously, and virtuously as it is discussed.

Just to be clear, having read all that is available thus far online, and then some, it is more proper to say that his active ministry has been restricted to the Diocese of Amarillo, TX where it seems he is incardinated.  He remains a priest in good standing.

Unfortunately, some sources - especially secular sources are mis-reporting it as a "suspension" without clarifying that his ministry outside of the Diocese of Amarillo has been suspended.  From what is visible online, it seems he is cooperating.


I don't have time to make a comprehensive blogpost of all that I have read online, and off.  So, at the bottom of this post, I will provide you with a few resources that will help you stay current with what is online.

First, a few notes:

  • Always look at a given case on it's own.  Don't project what happened to another priest, or what another bishop did in another case, to the case at hand. 

  • Keep in mind that good priests and good bishops can have misunderstandings.  Good priests and good bishops can make mistakes, or take imprudent actions.  Sometimes these must be sorted out at the Holy See, which is why there are processes in place to address them.  It doesn't mean that one party or the other is evil or that Satan is manipulating a bishop against a pro-life priest. Jumping to such conclusions with what little we have available is taking the easy way out and fits the definition Fr. Hardon gives for imprudence.  

  • It is a developing story and Fr. Pavone says he is appealing to Rome, which is within his rights.


    Pleneau Bay
    byJonathan Green

    All of this having been said, this is the tip of a very large iceberg, with most of the information under the water line.  We cannot form a judgment about Fr. Pavone's situation, or Bishop Zurek's actions, based on what little information is online.  Lest we fall into rash judgment about either men, or worse, the safest course is to interpret what little we have in the best possible light and hope for a misunderstanding on the part of one or both men.  We do not have the authority to judge the case, but we have a duty to charity to pray for all involved and hope for the best.

    We take a tremendous risk in pitting ourselves against a priest in a case like this, or against the bishop.  It's ok to not form an an opinion one way or the other.  In fact, this is most virtuous way to proceed.

    With that, I will give a few more minutes and offer some additional info:

    What will EWTN do?

    EWTN is in a pickle, as are other Catholic TV, radio and internet stations airing his material.  Personally, I hope Bishop Zurek permits these to continue for the time being so that other parties are not scrambling for new content to fill the blocks so abruptly and because I doubt that administrative issues at hand have a bearing on the pro-life messages.  If he is concerned about solicitations for donations to Priests for Life, EWTN may be able to edit this out to satisfy that concern.  However, that is a prudential decision that rests between the bishop, or bishops, involved and these stations.  This case is different from that of Fr. Corapi because Fr. Pavone remains in active ministry in the Diocese of Amarillo, whereas Fr. Corapi was suspended from any kind of active ministry. 


    The Anchoress has compiled a single paragraph from a series of tweets by EWTN. They were blindsided and are now trying to figure out what it means for them. 

    “EWTN is aware of reports that Bishop Patrick Zurek of the Diocese of Amarillo, Texas, has recalled Fr. Frank Pavone and restricted his faculties to function as a priest outside of that diocese. EWTN is in ongoing conversations with both the Diocese of Amarillo and Father Pavone to clarify the exact nature of the restrictions and their potential impact on EWTN’s ability to continue to air programming featuring Fr. Frank. ‘While these discussions are continuing, the network encourages our EWTN family to keep this matter in your prayers.”
    Here are some news sources:


    Find More to Read:

    Twitter is a very good resource to see what people are talking about on a subject.  I typed "Pavone" into the search tool and here is a list.  Refresh it now and then.  http://twitter.com/#!/search/pavone

    Now, this will undoubtedly be a blogfest-palooza.  I can't keep up with it all, so here are two real good tools you can use.  Type in, Pavone or Pavone Amarillo into search boxes at these sites and repeat it periodically to see updates:

    Google Blog Search: http://www.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en

    Catholic Blog Search: http://www.catholicblogs.com/ (this tool seems to be behind by a day or two of late).

    For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

    Te Deum Laudamus! Home

    The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
    Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.
    Posted by Diane M. Korzeniewski, OCDS at 8:20 PM
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