I’m saddened and angered – though not exactly surprised given the current state of the Church – that Frank Pavone has been dismissed from the priesthood. (I could utilize whataboutery and point out apparent double standards, but…I won’t bother. It is what it is.)
What also saddens me is that a fellow priest would publicly mock and make light of Pavone’s laicization.
Father Stephen Vrazel, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Mobile, Alabama, did just that by tweeting on Dec. 17: “Father Frank Pav-owned.” See an image of the tweet below.
Pavone isn’t perfect by any means (none of us are, of course), but he’s been a champion for the innocent unborn – not to mention a spiritual counselor for women hurt by abortion – for many years. He deserves praise and respect for that, especially from a fellow priest.
If you’re so inclined, dear reader, I urge you to politely express your concern to Vrazel about his offensive tweet. Click here for his contact information.
Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic commentator with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication, media, and theatre from Northeastern Illinois University. He also has an Associate in Applied Science degree in business management from Triton College. Abbott has been interviewed on HLN, MSNBC, Bill Martinez Live, WOSU Radio in Ohio, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's 2019 ‘Unsolved’ podcast about the unsolved murder of Father Alfred Kunz, Alex Shuman's 'Smoke Screen: Fake Priest' podcast, WLS-TV (ABC) in Chicago, WMTV (NBC) and WISC-TV (CBS) in Madison, Wisconsin. He’s been quoted in The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and other media outlets. He’s mentioned in the 2020 Report on the Holy See's Institutional Knowledge and Decision-Making Related to Former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick (1930 to 2017), which can be found on the Vatican's website. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com.
(Note: I welcome and appreciate thoughtful feedback. Insults will be ignored. Only in very select cases will I honor a request to have a telephone conversation about a topic in my column. Email is much preferred. God bless you and please keep me in your prayers!)
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