Father Pavone is appealing his case to Rome. I pray for the restoration of his good name. This, from Father Pavone’s statement at LifeSite News”
For the past several years, my Ordinary, the Most Reverend Patrick Zurek, Bishop of Amarillo, has given me permission to do the full-time pro-life work that I have done since 1993. In 2005, I made a public promise in a Church ceremony in Amarillo, presided over by a Vatican Cardinal, that this full-time pro-life work would be a lifetime commitment. That’s a commitment I promise to fulfill without wavering.
This past week, however, I received a letter from the Bishop insisting that I report to the Diocese this Tuesday, September 13 and, for the time being, remain only there.
I am very perplexed by this demand…. [H]e has said that he thinks I am giving too much priority to my pro-life work, and that this makes me disobedient to him. He also has claimed that I haven’t given him enough financial information….Priests for Life has consistently provided every financial document requested by Bishop Zurek, including annual financial audits, quarterly reports, management documents – even entire check registers! Priests for Life has been completely transparent with Bishop Zurek and any other bishops who have requested information regarding our management and finances. Indeed, we have 21 bishops and cardinals who sit on our Advisory Board, and they are kept fully informed about our finances.
Therefore, in the interest of preserving my good reputation as well as protecting the valuable work done by the Priests for Life organization, I have begun a process of appeal to the Vatican. This process aims to correct any mistaken decisions of the bishop in my regard and to protect my commitment to full-time pro-life activity for my whole life. We are very confident that the Vatican will resolve this matter in a just and equitable fashion. Because of this confidence, we are not currently making any changes in any positions at Priests for Life, or in any of our projects and plans.
I also want to point out that, according to the canon law of the Catholic Church, because I have begun this process of appeal to Rome, the Bishop’s order that I return to Amarillo has been effectively suspended. Nevertheless, because of my great respect for this Bishop and my commitment to be fully obedient at all times, I am reporting to Amarillo this Tuesday, in hopes that I can sort this problem out with the Bishop in a mutually agreeable and amicable way.
Coming Home 
Praying for Fr. Pavone…..and this be resolved quickly!
Not again!!…Thank you Father for being proactive about this situation and hope that they do not stifle you in your pro life work.
What an excellent response–I especially like Fr. Pavone’s concern for obedience. Praying for Fr. Pavone, and Bishop Zurek.
I wonder if Fr. Pavone knows about The St. Joseph Foundation?
According to their website, they serve “Catholics who seek to know and vindicate their rights within the Church – rights that the Church herself recognizes and protects. Whenever individuals or groups believe their rights are threatened or have been violated, the Foundation assists them in using the means established by the Church to obtain remedies.”
Just a thought.
+ Ann
More details, including Father Pavone’s letter responding to the bishsop, at http://www.lifenews.com/2011/09/13/father-frank-pavone-prevented-from-running-priests-for-life/
What on earth is going on?!?!?! First Fr. Euteneuer, then Fr. Corapi now Fr. Pavone. As was mentioned above, thank God Fr. Pavone (and Fr. Euteneuer) chose obedience. I’ll be watching closely and praying fervently. Satan is a having a field day. As Christopher West said … If you want to know what is most sacred look at what is most violently attacked!
What a difference from (Fr.) Corapi’s response! The devil is alive and well and living in the Catholic Church of America! Our Lady of Lourdes, heal us.
Can anyone tell me who this Bishop Zurek person is?
I just read the letter he sent to his brother bishops and then released to the abortion-friendly news media. Wow! Has anyone read the bishop’s letter? He levels some pretty ludicrous charges. He even accuses Pavone of failing to provide him with a “transparent and complete” audit of Priests for Life.
I was shocked when I read it. So I went to the Priests for Life website to see if they had a response.
Boy, did they! Has anyone seen all the financial information Pavone has sent to Zurek? It’s a boatload of documents, records, audits, transactions. It’s all there for the world to read. A bank manager doesn’t ask for half as much from someone applying for a million dollar loan!
In fact, it doesn’t seem like Bishop Zurek is concerned about financial oversight at all—it sounds like all he’s interested in is financial persecution! Why does this Bishop seem so hell-bent on trying to destroy Priests for Life?
Is he simply jealous of Fr. Frank? His letter reads like the jealous and petty ravings of a high school girl who just got beat out for prom queen! He’s upset because Fr. Frank is so “famous.” Give me a break!
All I know is this that, based on everything I’ve read, what Bishop Zurek did to Fr. Frank Pavone is nothing less than a hatchet job. In one short letter, this petty little man has done more to damage the pro-life movement and endanger innocent babies than anyone from Planned Parenthood or NARAL ever could.
What a sad day for the pro-life movement in America. It’s an even sadder day for the bishops here in the U.S. First it was under their watch that abortion became the law of the land. Then they sit around for 40 years and do next to nothing while millions of babies are slaughtered. And now one of their own Bishops is trying to single-handedly destroy a true pro-life hero—Fr. Frank—the person in the Church who is doing the most to win the battle for Life.
Way to go, Bishop Zurek. Happy now?