Posted on 09/15/2011 5:02:57 PM PDT by markomalley
Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, has said that if his bishop does not allow him to return to full-time pro-life work, he will consider being incardinated in a different diocese or founding a religious order to continue his pro-life ministry.
The well-known pro-life priest also said that he had been actively talking with Bishop Patrick J. Zurek of Amarillo, Texas for months about spending more time in the diocese before the bishop forbid him from ministry outside of the diocese.
In an interview with CNA, Fr. Pavone said that he arrived in Amarillo on Sept. 13, in obedience to Bishop Zurek’s order, but found that the bishop left town that day and would be out of the country for two weeks.
Fr. Pavone said that he does not know when he will be able to meet with the bishop, or how long he wants him to stay in the diocese.
He said that he has been given no assignment and left no instructions, so he is continuing to do work for Priests for Life from Amarillo.
He stressed that he has not been suspended from working for Priests for Life and that he still maintains all of his priestly faculties as a priest in good standing. The bishop’s only order was that he return to work in the Amarillo diocese.
According to Fr. Pavone, the bishop initially expressed a desire for him to spend more time in the diocese to fill a need for pastoral work.
The two clergymen had talked about an arrangement that would allow Fr. Pavone to come to the diocese periodically for several weeks in order to do pastoral work. In the course of this discussion Bishop Zurek asked for dates that he would be able to come to Amarillo.
“I sent him those dates two or three weeks ago,” the priest said.
But according to Fr. Pavone, the bishop never acknowledged receiving the dates, and instead sent a letter to the U.S. bishops accusing him of disobedience and demanding that he return immediately.
Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, told The Catholic Review that he supports Bishop Zurek’s decision.
“I appreciate Bishop Patrick Zurek’s statement and would hope that Father Pavone would adhere fully to the requests of his bishop,” Archbishop O’Brien said. “Bishop Zurek has been so very patient and thorough in dealing with this matter over many months. I appreciate his decision and support it completely.”
Monsignor Harold Waldow, vicar of clergy for the Diocese of Amarillo, said that while Fr. Pavone submitted financial information for Priests for Life, he failed to do so for two other affiliated nonprofit groups, Rachel’s Vineyard and Missionaries of the Gospel of Life.
“Two of the major pieces of the international pro-life movement and national pro-life movement are missing,” he told the Amarillo Globe-News.
“This is patrimony of the Church. It belongs to the Church,” Msgr. Waldow said. “People give their money over the understanding that it goes to the Church or Church auspices and programs and ministries.”
“I’m sure that our bishop does not stand alone on this,” he added. “I think Rome has been quite clear the bishops of the United States need to exercise more prudential guidance and governance over the patrimony of the Church.”
Meanwhile, on the afternoon of Sept. 15 Msgr. Waldow issued a clarification that said: “because there is dispute about the auditing process and the complete audit for all the entities of Priests for Life, Rachel’s Vineyard, and the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life does not mean that Father Pavone is being charged with any malfeasance or being accused of any wrong doing with the financial matters of Priests for Life.”
While Fr. Pavone has appealed his bishop’s decision to the Vatican, he says this is not a sign of disobedience or unwillingness to talk to Bishop Zurek.
“We have been talking with the bishop for years about these issues,” he said, explaining that he was only appealing to the Vatican on areas where he and the bishop had been unable to reach an agreement.
Fr. Pavone also added that he is following the prescribed procedure for a Vatican appeal, and that he has had a close working relationship with the Vatican for years.
“It is natural and normal that they already know about this,” he said.
If he is not allowed to continue his work with Priests for Life, Fr. Pavone explained that he is looking into the possibility of being incardinated into a different diocese.
“I do have various options,” he said. “The Church is bigger than Amarillo. The Church is the Church.”
Fr. Pavone noted that the reason he had initially come to Amarillo was to be able to run his pro-life ministry, which he did with permission from the bishop. He emphasized that he has always run Priests for Life with the approval of the bishop.
“I have experienced the call to full-time pro-life work,” he said. “I want to do that for the rest of my life.”
“It’s a vocational matter,” he added, explaining that he has never had the slightest doubt about his call to the priesthood, or about his call to pro-life work. He does not see them as incompatible but believes that he is called to both.
Fr. Pavone stated that he is “confident” that he will be able to work toward a positive resolution with both Bishop Zurek and the Vatican. He believes that part of the solution may lie in creating a new type of pro-life ministry within the Church.
Canon law allows for many movements and structures within the Church, Fr. Pavone explained. Religious communities are the most well-known, but there are also other ways to commit to a particular cause within the Church.
He said that he would be open to pursuing such a structure to welcome the commitments of both religious and lay people who feel called to give their whole lives to the pro-life cause.
Fr. Pavone pointed to saints who founded religious orders to devote their lives to working with the poor or disabled. Opposition from the local church was sometimes present as part of the “growing pains” of beginning their ministry, he explained.
“But ultimately, the Church vindicates the mission,” he said.
Train wreck dead ahead.
I tithe to the orders directly, through a contact.
Thank you, but I’m happy as a Catholic. We revere the writings of the Pentateuch, as part of our Old Testament, and enjoy hearing the words of Moses, the Psalms, and the writings of the Prophets, every Sunday at Mass.
I’m sure people are coming to him and asking him what is going on, and he feels an obligation to report to them as best as he knows.
I don’t think he’s speaking out to draw attention, merely to keep people informed.
As for your observations regarding the bishop, I’m afraid I have to agree with you here.
The ellipses were used to show the most generic structure of what he said.
That generic structure is: "If I don't get my way, I will (fill in the blank)"
"If you don't eat your meat, you don't get dessert"
"If you don't give me that toy, I'll throw a tantrum in public"
"If you don't give me a raise, I'll find a different job"
And so on.
It is a threat designed to put the threatened person over a barrel (by promising an unpleasant outcome) if he/she doesn't comply with the demand.
That is not humble obedience. That is petulance.
Having said the above, this was not listed as a quote. So this could be the interpretation of the CNA journalist and not the actual verbiage of Father Pavone.
Priests, prudent cooperators with the Episcopal order,(72*) its aid and instrument, called to serve the people of God, constitute one priesthood (73*) with their bishop although bound by a diversity of duties. Associated with their bishop in a spirit of trust and generosity, they make him present in a certain sense in the individual local congregations, and take upon themselves, as far as they are able, his duties and the burden of his care, and discharge them with a daily interest. And as they sanctify and govern under the bishop's authority, that part of the Lord's flock entrusted to them they make the universal Church visible in their own locality and bring an efficacious assistance to the building up of the whole body of Christ.(184) intent always upon the welfare of God's children, they must strive to lend their effort to the pastoral work of the whole diocese, and even of the entire Church. On account of this sharing in their priesthood and mission, let priests sincerely look upon the bishop as their father and reverently obey him. And let the bishop regard his priests as his co-workers and as sons and friends, just as Christ called His disciples now not servants but friends.(185) All priests, both diocesan and religious, by reason of Orders and ministry, fit into this body of bishops and priests, and serve the good of the whole Church according to their vocation and the grace given to them.
Lumen Gentium, 23
Think of the persecutions of Padre Pio: despite years of unjust persecution, he humbly obeyed. He did not issue public statements defending himself. He did not threaten to split off from the Capuchins if he didn't get his way.
Then think of the fruits of his humility in the long-term.
Look, I don't know if the bishop is right or wrong with the facts here. And I have been a supporter of PFL and Fr Pavone for years, both with prayers and finances (when possible). And he is nominally being obedient: he was ordered to return to his diocese and he has done so. However...a statement of "if I don't get my way, I will do (blank)" is not the statement of reverent, humble, filial obedience. It is a response of ego and not humility. And it is of concern.
And founding a active religious institute like the Sisters for Life is a really good idea and one I would support.
But the If you don't (fill in the blank), I will (fill in the blank) sounds like an expression of ego rather than one of humility. It sounds like an approach of the statement "non serviam." And that is not a good statement.
IMHO, Fr Pavone would be better served by humility in public (and continuing his actions in private). And we, as laity, should keep the situation in our prayers. We don't know all the facts at the fingertips of his Ordinary.
And remember the words of St Ignatius of Antioch:
See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father...Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop...Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church...It is well to reverence both God and the bishop. He who honours the bishop has been honoured by God; he who does anything without the knowledge of the bishop, does [in reality] serve the devil.Letter to the Smyrnaeans, 8-9
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