Vatican Dismisses Trump Supporter Priest Following Controversial Social Media Posts

The Roman Catholic Church has defrocked anti-abortion priest Frank Pavone after he was found to have made blasphemous posts on social media.

Vatican Defrocks Anti-Abortion Priest

As first reported by Gizmodo, the decision to defrock the Florida-based priest was made on November 9 with no opportunity for an appeal, as stated by U.S. Archbishop Christophe Pierre in a letter received by numerous news agencies.

Pavone's dismissal from the church is known as laicization, and it is a portion of Catholic Church canon law that means a bishop, priest, or deacon is removed as a clergy member. It is one of the most severe sanctions a priest can face under church canon law.

The same report tells us that the same Catholic priest has slammed in 2016 for live streaming an aborted fetus on Facebook. In the 44-minute live stream, he showed audiences what he called "a child who was killed by abortion and entrusted to us by a pathologist for burial."

The video was accompanied by a message suggesting that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic platform would permit abortion to continue and that Trump and the Republican agenda wished to protect unborn children.

According to a statement from the Vatican first shared by NBCNews, Pavone was removed from the priesthood after an investigation found that he had "engaged in communications and activities that are incompatible with the sacred dignity of the priesthood." The statement did not specify the exact nature of the posts in question but described them as "blasphemous."

Dismissed Priest Replies

Following the news of his permanent dismissal, Pavone tweeted that he would not be silenced and that he would "continue to speak, loud and clear."

Pavone is the founder of Priests for Life, an anti-abortion organization active in the United States. He has been a vocal critic of abortion and has often clashed with church leaders.

In response to the defrocking, Pavone released a statement saying that he was "deeply saddened" by the decision and planned to appeal it. He added that he remained "fully committed" to his work as an anti-abortion activist.

In the statement on the Priest For Life website, he stated that his laicization was "the result of an abusive process" and that he was exploring unspecified legal action against unnamed U.S. bishops.

The statement concluded that because Priests for Life is not a Catholic organization, the group would have to decide if he could continue in his role "as a lay person."

The defrocking of Pavone has sparked widespread outrage among his supporters, who have accused the Catholic Church of stifling freedom of speech. However, church officials have defended the decision, saying that Pavone's actions were "incompatible with the sacred dignity of the priesthood."

The defrocking of Pavone marks a significant development in the ongoing controversy surrounding abortion and the role of the Catholic Church in the United States. It remains to be seen how this decision will impact the future of Priests for Life and the broader anti-abortion movement.