There was still more news late last week. What better time to release bad news than in the ten days or so before Christmas the Winter Holiday, when people have their minds elsewhere, thinking about presents and turkey and travel and (maybe) the coming of Jesus the Christ, to bring light into a dark world.
Speaking of the dark world, the Vatican chose the peak of the Christmas holiday rush to send out a notice to anyone who might care that Father Frank Pavone, the head of the advocacy group Priests for Life, and sometime spiritual advisor to President Trump, was "laicized" -- removed from the priesthood -- in November, and should now be referred to as just "Mr Pavone".
What could Father Pavone (who remains a priest even though he may be barred from priestly office) have done to deserve such a punishment? Even Father Nicholas Gruner, the Fatima Priest, whose voice the Vatican tried to silence for decades, was never "laicized".
The man who calls himself Pope Francis must have either approved the decision or stepped aside to allow it to happen. Priests don’t get defrocked every day, and a well-known priest like Father Pavone must have transgressed beyond a few curses on Twitter to force the hand of the Unholy Father and receive the ultimate priestly punishment.
The Vatican said merely that Father Pavone was "found guilty in canonical proceedings of blasphemous communications on social media, and of persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop."
No specifics were given, but it is well known that Fr Pavone frequently clashed with his superiors over some of the language he has used in his social media postings. In 2020, in the heat of the election campaign, a tweet he authored referred to "supporters of this goddamn loser Biden and his morally corrupt, America-hating, God hating Democrat party."
Aha! The real sin was criticizing the apostate President Brandon! Was there more? We hand the narrative over to our old friend Dr Taylor Marshall.
Father Pavone promises to keep fighting. And he has some powerful supporters. Most Rev. Joseph Strickland, Bishop of Tyler TX, tweeted: "The blasphemy is that this holy priest is canceled while an evil president promotes the denial of truth & the murder of the unborn at every turn, Vatican officials promote immorality & denial of the deposit of faith & priests promote gender confusion devastating lives…evil."
Just so. Let us pray, once again: "Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen."
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