Mario There is such a strong preternatural force acting against truth today, that we can be caught in its seduction and not be aware it has played a role against truth. Take me for instance. After reading the initial information about Fr Pavone on the MoG site, I was drawn to believe that maybe Fr Pavone was at fault. I listened to negative perspectives of those who psychologically evaluated Fr Pavone's character and I deduced that Fr Pavone must have ulterior motives, in his role as the head of the priests for life. I was ready to believe the dismissal of Fr Pavone was justified. Since this time I have watched many videos on Fr Pavone dismissal, including the video you presented above and still this questioning of his character continued in my mind. However after watching Fr Heilman and Doug Berry of US Graceforce, interview with Fr Pavone , I see Fr Pavone as a committed priest to Christ who stands for the most vulnerable of our society and I am enamoured by His strength and His humility.
He is needed more than ever is he needed. However, he cannot be an island unto himself. If the bishop is error. He still must obey him. It is up to God to change the heart of a wayward bishop, cardinal or even pope. I pray he repents and is granted his priestly duties again. It appears to me this is all about obedience.
@padraig just shared this on the other thread about this issue: Since it was posted today, I assume Fr. Mark had something very specific on his mind in making these remarks. I really needed to hear this right now as I’ve been second guessing myself and my own impressions of the situation.
I just had an exchange with a friend who is a devout traditional Catholic and known pro life journalist, now retired from that work, who covered pro life issues for many years globally. I asked them if my impression was way off base. Their reply:
Yes Brian Very good talk by Fr Mark. He is correct, God is a "way Maker" and we must be obedient to our superiors. After listening to Fr Pavone on the grace force interview he explains how he was obedient to his Bishops many requests (even to stepping down from his leadership role in priests for life ) around the time of the initial presidential election of Present Trump, (I think) however because he publicly supported Trump, his Bishop continued to apply further sanctions. It seemed he remained dutifully obedient to his bishop, over the years while also availing himself to legal canonical avenues, which he pursued privately to alleviate his Bishop from further annoyance. It is a kettle of fish. Lord have mercy. Below is Arch Bishops Vigano's reponse.... Viganò’s Declaration on the Canonical Sanctions Imposed on Father Frank A. Pavone Written by Carlo Maria Vigano Agere sequitur esse. So we are taught by scholastic philosophy: the action of every being depends on the nature of that being. It follows that a person’s actions are consistent with who that person is. We find confirmation of this principle of ontology in the canonical sanctions recently imposed by the Holy See on Father Frank A. Pavone, a well-known and appreciated pro-life priest, who for decades has been committed to the battle against the horrible crime of abortion. If a Roman Dicastery decides to electrocute a priest with reduction to the lay state, accusing him of blasphemy and preventing him from having the ability to defend himself legally in a canonical trial; and if, at the same time, analogous decisions are not taken with regard to notorious heretical, corrupt, and fornicating clergy, it is not out of place to ask if such a persecutory action reveals a persecutory mind, and if an action against a good priest who has worked strenuously to oppose abortion reveals the hatred of the persecutor with regard to the Good and those who fight for it. This unjust and illegitimate punishment becomes all the more hateful the closer we come to Holy Christmas, if we consider that by the killing of innocent children the Enemy of the human race wants to kill the Infant King. The Bergoglian sect eclipses the Catholic Church with its arrogant occupation of leadership posts and scandalously abuses its authority for a purpose opposed to that for which Our Lord, the Head of the Church, has intended it. There is no area of doctrine, morals, discipline, or liturgy that has not been the object of its vandalizing action. Nothing is being saved of the little that remained after sixty years of systematic demolition through the work of Second Vatican Council, and that which survives as a crumbling reminder of the glories of days gone by is under the constant threat of new and worse devastation. If serving the Church and defending the life of innocent creatures in this time of apostasy constitutes a crime worthy of dismissal from the clerical state, while promoting abortion and gender ideology and violating consecrated virgins is not deemed liable to excommunication, then Father Pavone ought to consider this shameful Vatican decision to be a source of pride. It is therefore evident that the Roman Sanhedrin – whose work baffles even the most cautious interpreters of Vatican affairs – has a purpose of persecuting the good and promoting evildoers. The case of the “cancellation” of Father Pavone is the umpteenth demonstration that this purpose is being carried out with ferocious obstinacy, both in order to feed a climate of terror among the clergy so as to constrain them into servile and fearful obedience and also to create disorientation and scandal among the faithful and others who still look to the Church as a moral point of reference. All of this is happening at the same time that the Jesuit priest Marko Ivan Rupnik, on whom a sentence is pending for very serious canonical crimes that carry with them the punishment of excommunication latæ sententiæ, has his canonical penalty remitted by his Jesuit confrere and companion who lives in Santa Marta; and while the Roman Curia is infested with unpresentable characters who are notoriously corrupt and heretical sodomites and fornicators. Bergoglian acolytes are distinguished in this manner: the graver their crimes, the more prestigious the positions they hold. In the face of this violation of the most elementary principles of justice and governmental prudence, as well as the blatant determination of the highest levels of the Hierarchy to act contra mentem legis, it is necessary that the Cardinals and Bishops understand the very serious consequences of their complicit silence, and that they courageously raise their voices in defense of the healthy part of the ecclesial body. This duty is imposed by respect for the Catholic Truth which has been violated, the honor of Holy Mother Church who has been humiliated by her own Prelates, and the eternal salvation of souls which has been endangered by the words and action of evil shepherds who are usurping an authority that does not belong to them but rather to Christ the King and High Priest, the Head of the Mystical Body. If serving the Church and defending the life of innocent creatures in this time of apostasy constitutes a crime worthy of dismissal from the clerical state, while promoting abortion and gender ideology and violating consecrated virgins is not deemed liable to excommunication, then Father Pavone ought to consider this shameful Vatican decision to be a source of pride, recalling Our Savior’s words: Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every manner of evil against you falsely because of Me (Mt 5:11). And whoever has inculpated themselves as an accomplice of this persecution against the good ought to tremble at the thought of the judgement which awaits them. Deus non irridetur – God is not mocked (Gal 6:7). + Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop December 22, 2022
I hear you. Our priests need many prayers. Come Lord Jesus we are in need of Your Divine Mercy and we trust only in Your Divine Mercy. Amen.
I am not in any way defending what was done to Fr. Pavone. The canonical penalty for disobedience to one’s bishop and for online blasphemy is NOT laicization without appeal. That is a gross injustice and could only have been done by papal authority. Pope Francis personally acted to do this vile deed. As soon as we have a legitimate Catholic pope this will be overturned.
We, as non-members of the presbytery, can be pleased that our only role in this particular heartache is that of prayer and fasting and the offering up of sacrifices. Both the messages at Akita and Garabandal prophesied that divisions in the hierarchy of the Church would impact the Bride of Christ. It is not my responsibility to figure it all out. Thank goodness. Offer up all to the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts. The Lord has not exited the Throne. He is still and will always be in charge. This is what I keep telling myself.
