Vatican defrocks anti-abortion priest Frank Pavone - NPR

Frank Pavone, caput of Priests for Life, has been defrocked by the Vatican for what it said were "blasphemous communications connected societal media" arsenic good arsenic "persistent disobedience" of his bishop. Greg Kahn/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Greg Kahn/AP

Frank Pavone, caput of Priests for Life, has been defrocked by the Vatican for what it said were "blasphemous communications connected societal media" arsenic good arsenic "persistent disobedience" of his bishop.

Greg Kahn/AP

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has defrocked an anti-abortion U.S. priest, Frank Pavone, for what it said were "blasphemous communications connected societal media" arsenic good arsenic "persistent disobedience" of his bishop.

A missive to U.S. bishops from the Vatican ambassador to the U.S., Archbishop Christophe Pierre, obtained Sunday, said the determination against Pavone, who heads the anti-abortion radical Priests for Life, had been taken Nov. 9, and that determination was nary accidental for an appeal.

Pavone had been investigated by his then-diocese of Amarillo, Texas, for having placed an aborted fetus connected an altar and posting a video of it connected 2 societal media sites successful 2016. He posts often astir U.S. authorities and abortion, and the video of the aborted fetus was accompanied by a station saying that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic level would let termination to proceed and that Donald Trump and the Republican level privation to support unborn children.

Pavone remains a steadfast protagonist of Trump: His Twitter grip features him wearing a "MAGA" chapeau with a inheritance photograph featuring the erstwhile U.S. president, whom galore conservatives praise for his Supreme Court nominees who overturned the landmark determination guaranteeing a law close to termination successful the United States.

In a tweet Sunday, Pavone sounded defiant, comparing his destiny to that of the unborn.

"So successful each profession, including the priesthood, if you support the #unborn, you volition beryllium treated similar them! The lone quality is that erstwhile we are "aborted," we proceed to speak, large and clear."

His supporters instantly denounced the measure, including the bishop of Tyler, Texas, Joseph Strickland, who referred to U.S. President Joe Biden's enactment for termination rights arsenic "evil."

"The blasphemy is that this beatified clergyman is canceled portion an evil president promotes the denial of information & the execution of the unborn astatine each turn, Vatican officials beforehand immorality & denial of the deposit of religion & priests beforehand sex disorder devastating lives...evil," Strickland tweeted.

Pavone had appealed to the Vatican implicit restrictions placed connected his ministry successful 2011 by the Amarillo bishop, succeeded successful getting the restrictions eased, and relocated distant from Texas portion remaining progressive with Priests for Life.

In his letter, Pierre cited accusation from the Congregation for Clergy that Pavone had been laicized — helium tin nary longer contiguous himself arsenic a clergyman — aft being recovered blameworthy successful a canonical proceeding "of blasphemous communications connected societal media and of persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop." The missive was archetypal reported by Catholic News Agency.

The connection said Pavone was fixed "ample accidental to support himself" arsenic good arsenic to taxable to his bishop. "It was determined that Father Pavone had nary tenable justification for his actions."

The connection concluded that since Priests for Life is not a Catholic organization, it would beryllium up to the radical to find whether helium could proceed his relation "as a laic person."

Laicization, oregon being reduced to the laic state, is 1 of the harshest sanctions successful the church's canon law.