According to all the news stories, Fr. Frank Pavone has been suspended of all priestly faculties outside of the diocese of Amarillo by his own bishop while investigation of possible fiscal malfeasance proceeds.
This suspension was communicated by letter to ALL bishops in the United States on September 9, 2011.
So why did I just receive this in my e-mail inbox today (see below)?
Did someone in his own organization not get the memo?
Do these guys have ANY IDEA how stupid, larcenous, etc., such a letter appears to be at this juncture?
Exactly how tone-deaf is Fr. Pavone and Priests for Life?
And how is it, in this long, lugubrious letter, they forgot to mention that their founder is currently under investigation for what appears to be at least fiscal malfeasance, if not outright embezzlement?
It will be interesting to see which bloggers jump on Fr. Pavone in the same way they jumped on Fr. Corapi, nicht wahr?
Will anyone mention that both priests enjoyed enormous support from EWTN?
September 13, 2011
(Thank you for your support of Priests for Life. If you already responded to the following appeal online, I appreciate your support. This email is intended for those who did not respond when we sent it previously.)
Dear Steve and Veronica,I’m writing on behalf of Father Frank.My name is Jerry Horn and I am the Senior Vice President for Priests for Life.I’m glad Father asked me to write to you because I have a special favor that I need to ask of you. It’s a surprise for Father Frank.But before I get to that favor and surprise, let me tell you why Father asked me to send you this email.On Wednesday, October 5, Priests for Life will mark its 20th Anniversary with a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco. The Most Reverend George Niederauer, the Archbishop of San Francisco, has enthusiastically agreed be the main celebrant for the 6:00 p.m. Mass. His support reflects that of many bishops.Father Frank had intended to write to you himself and invite you to join us for the Mass, but time simply got away from him. In fact, he just finished taping the “Defending Life” series of TV shows at EWTN and is now at his diocese in Amarillo.So he asked me to write to you in his place.This email is your invitation to join Father Frank and staff for a special Anniversary Mass when we will thank God for the many blessings he has showered on Priests for Life’s ministry.
If you can be with us for the Mass and the reception to follow, click here. Please include your name and the number of people who will be coming with you.
There will be a small reception following the Mass … and it is at that reception that I hope to surprise Father Frank with a very special Anniversary gift.If you cannot be with us in person, then at least join us in spirit and ask God to continue to bless the work of Priests for Life and to guide Father Frank and the Pastoral Associates as they continue to lead the fight to end abortion. Without question, prayer is the most powerful weapon we have in that fight.And yet, it’s going to take more than just our prayers to win this battle. For as St. Augustine said: “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.”So we pray. But we must also work.And no one is working harder to end legalized abortion-on-demand in America than Father Frank and the Priests for Life team. To a person, every one of us is on the road constantly preaching the Gospel of Life, building up the People of Life, and energizing all Americans to defend the youngest members of our human family; namely, our unborn brothers and sisters. But that work cannot continue without your loving and generous support … not only spiritually with your prayers, but also financially with your donations to Priests for Life.And that brings me to the special favor I have to ask of you. As you may have guessed, that favor is to help us surprise Father Frank with a check for $676,678 that Priests for Life needs to keep all of its important projects and programs going full-speed ahead.
To be part of that surprise 20th Anniversary gift presentation, just click here and make as large a contribution to Priests for Life as you possibly can today.
The reason why I’m hoping that our check is for $676,678 is because that’s the amount Father Frank indicated he needed in a letter he sent to the entire Priests for Life family a few weeks; as well as the urgent email he sent to you not long ago.I’m not sure if you’ve already responded to that email or not, but even if you have, it’s critically important that help with another contribution for as much as you can possibly send so that we can present Father with as large a check as we can … but hopefully for the full $676,678 that he needs.And if you haven’t yet sent Father a reply to his email, then please decide to do so now as part of the special 20th Anniversary gift the Priests for Life family is going to present to Father on October 5 in San Francisco.The reason I’m asking you to do this is because Father Frank really needs your help. As I mentioned a moment ago, after returning from three weeks of preaching pro-life missions, and then meetings at the Vatican, he raced down to Birmingham for ten grueling days of taping.I’m telling you this because I know how much you respect and trust Father Frank. Well, you aren’t alone.
No leader and no organization in the pro-life movement is more worthy and more deserving of your support than Father Frank and Priests for Life.
I know. I’ve been involved in the fight to end abortion since the early 1980s. For thirty years now it has been my honor to work with most of the great pro-life leaders – Judie Brown, Joe Scheidler, Melody Green, Mark Crutcher, Nellie Gray ... too many to mention all by name.They’re all great people and they’ve done fantastic work.Still, if I had to pick the one person best suited to lead our pro-life movement, it would be Father Frank. He is the most determined, most single-minded individual I have ever met in my life. He works 17- and 18-hour days. And he is consumed with the mission God has entrusted to him; namely:
To end abortion in America!
Not to limit abortion. Not to cut it back. Not to overturn Roe v. Wade. Not to make abortion illegal. But rather to make abortion unthinkable and to end all abortions in the U.S. ... and then throughout the world!Between you and me, that’s the reason why I work with him. He is relentless. He is never deterred. Never sidetracked. Never distracted. Always pressing forward. Moving here, then there. Energizing this priest. Reaching out to this victim of abortion. Converting that abortionist. Always preaching the Gospel of Life ... both in season and out of season. A man as dedicated as that deserves our full support. And that’s what he needs now.
So I’m writing to ask you to click here and help make the 20th Anniversary of Priests for Life one that none of us will ever forget.
I’m doing so because, when all is said and done, the amount of preaching Father and the other Pastoral Associates are able to do is in your hands … yours and every other member of the Priests for Life family.That’s because no matter what plans and projects and programs Father Frank comes up with, they only go forward if there are dollars to fund them. And since it is you and other friends who provide those dollars, what Priests for Life is able to do to advance the cause of life is really up to you.That’s why Father Frank sent you his email ... and why I’m writing to you today.The best thing we can do to mark Priests for Life’s 20th Anniversary and show Father Frank the depth of our commitment to the pro-life cause is to do all we can to keep Priests for Life fully funded and on the front lines of the fight to end abortion.That said …
… please click here and make as generous a contribution as you possibly can to Priests for Life!
I’m sure if you and I and every other member of our Priests for Life family gives as much as they can we can raise that $676,618.And if we do, then come this time next year, we will have grown the People of Life into such a powerful force that no one will dare ignore us or our cry to end abortion and stop the killing of our innocent unborn brothers and sisters.Together let’s use the occasion of Priests for Life’s 20th Anniversary to re-dedicate ourselves to the cause of life. Let your prayers and your special Anniversary gift be a sign of your renewed commitment to the fight to end abortion and win for the youngest members of our human family their unalienable right to life!!!Make no mistake. The enemy is working furiously to keep abortion-on-demand the law of the land. Father Frank and the entire Priests for Life team are working even harder to thwart them. But it’s becoming more and more difficult as the economy continues to sap Priests for Life of the dollars we need to carry on the fight.A gift from you today would be a huge help and provide much relief.
So please take a moment right now to click here and send Priests for Life a special 20thAnniversary gift that Father Frank will use to lead God’s people to victory over the powers of evil and the culture of death!
Thank you and may God truly bless you for your willingness to help defend and protect His defenseless, innocent unborn children.Sincerely yours in the Love of Christ,Jerry Horn, Senior Vice PresidentPriests for LifePS In addition to asking you to send a special 20th Anniversary gift, I invite you to write Father Frank a short note telling him how he and Priests for Life have impacted you. Your note will be included in a booklet that we will present to Father at the reception following the Anniversary Mass … along with that $676,618 check. To send us your note, just click here and follow the instructions. I know Father would really appreciate hearing from you because you mean more to him than you know. The only thing I ask is that you send me your gift and note right away so that I’ll have them well before October 5. On behalf of Father Frank, thank you again for your help. I cannot overstate how urgently it’s needed right now. NOTE: If you prefer to send a check, please make it out to Priests for Life and send it to us at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314. If you have any questions, call us toll-free at 888-735-3448 x232.If you do not wish to receive any emails from us, let us know at unsubscribe@priestsforlife.org. However, unsubscribing will deprive you of some important and helpful information in the months to come, and therefore we strongly encourage you to stay on our list!
Apparently I've missed a lot lately.
ReplyDeleteTime to see how the investigation plays out, but if it turns up something not so good, it is another sign of something that has been trying to slap American Catholics in the face for at least 15-20 years now: these organizations which have little if any ecclesiastical oversight are in need of serious reform, if not by the Bishops, then in house with far stronger standards.
I have never been a fan of Corapi or Pavone, foo, I hardly knew they existed. But I'm getting sick and tired of the media frenzy generated by certain professional Catholic bloggers when a priest gets into some kind of difficulty. The Catholic blogosphere should inform us about what is happening, (just the facts Ma'am, as Joe Friday used to say) but the frenzied statements should be restricted to the comboxes, and the bloggers should kept their own opinions to themselves. Unfortnately, many of the professional catolic bloggers use their blogs as a bully pulpit to preach and teach ideas that are non-magisterial or to launch attacks on people or institutions that don't agree with them. IMO, these attacks encourage a lynch mob mentality that will destroy the civility and respect Catholics are supposed to have for our priests and institutions. We, the laity, need to tell, and if nessasary, boycott these so-called professional bloggers who encourage this un-Christian free-for-all before it destroys the lives and reptations of far too many people.
ReplyDeleteSomebody can always take Fr. Pavone's place. What is the big deal?
ReplyDeleteOperation Rescue President Troy Newman said he handed Bp. Zerek their financial reports proving Fr. Pavone's good accountability.