Fr. Pavone stresses that he remains a priest in good standing and has not been suspended from his work with Priests for Life. He underscores his desire to continue his pro-Life activities, hopes for a positive resolution to the case at hand, and says that he is considering founding a religious order if that is necessary to allow him to maintain his work on life issues.
He gives some background on the relationship between himself and his bishop:
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.
[. . .]
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.
Monsignor Waldow acknowledges that Fr. Pavone furnished information on the finances of Priests for Life, but adds that this was not done for two affiliated organizations, 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.
Bishop Zurek, Fr. Pavone's superior, is currently out of the country for two weeks.
All in all, this seems rather more unseemly than scandalous. There are certainly important issues involved that Bishop Zurek is responsible for monitoring, but no real hint of malfeasance. Msgr. Waldfow, indeed, is quick to point out that "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.”
In being charged with oversight over the main pro-life organizations in the Church in the US, Bishop Zurek has a huge responsibility here. Ultimately, his neck is on the line for anything that happens at PFL, and so it is not a matter of mere protocol but a necessity that he be treated with full deference and given any information he requires in a timely fashion, and not dealt with like an obstacle or a third wheel.
I have every confidence that this will be resolved successfully for all involved, that PFL and its off-shoots will be found in good health, and that a workable arrangement will be achieved for all of the personalities at play in this matter. Until there is more light to be offered than murk, we should probably hear less of this, but I will continue to report any news that becomes available. This is more about the pastoral guidance of a priest by his bishop than it is about any wrongdoing that I need to be aware of, and I would prefer to let them hash matters out quietly between themselves.
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| Fr. Frank Pavone in 2004 |
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