Fr. Pavone resigns from Trump campaign roles

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So we had a priest serving as a campaign advisory??? That seems oddly inappropriate. I am assuming Priests for Life still wants to be a non-profit entity. From the article:
Pavone said that while he will no longer occupy a position in the Trump campaign “nothing has changed in my advocacy for the president, given that the Democrats do indeed pose a grave threat to ‘the rights of the Church’ and ‘the common good,’ a point I’ll be making constantly between now and November 3.”

“Any cleric who doesn’t see that point has his head in the sand or in a Democrat echo chamber,” the priest added.
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While saying he is neither right or wrong, I will say that he has made a good case for having his non-profit, tax-exempt status removed, should that pursued in the future.
 
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This is what is most important anyway…
Pavone said that while he will no longer occupy a position in the Trump campaign “nothing has changed in my advocacy for the president, given that the Democrats do indeed pose a grave threat to ‘the rights of the Church’ and ‘the common good,’ a point I’ll be making constantly between now and November 3.”

“Any cleric who doesn’t see that point has his head in the sand or in a Democrat echo chamber,” the priest added.
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puer.dei said:
According to the article, Canon law requires clergy to have permission. And yet he decided that didn’t apply to him.
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As the old saying goes, it’s easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.
He also probably knew he would not get permission, so he strategically got his licks in before he was told to stop.
 
Well, the law has not changed. I understand that President Trump would never enforce it. It is his campaign, after all. I know the order he signed was going to seek to repeal the Johnson amendment, but that would take action by Congress. My concern would be when someone else is in the White House who would enforce that law, or if suit was filed against Priests for Life.

There is a lot priests (and non-profits) can do for candidates, but when you openly support political parties like a PAC, someone might call you on it.
Tis_Bearself said:
As the old saying goes, it’s easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.
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Very true. That part is kind of funny, if it doesn’t backfire.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
As the old saying goes, it’s easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.
He also probably knew he would not get permission, so he strategically got his licks in before he was told to stop.
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It is indeed but I’m not sure how that squares with the promise of respect and obedience he made at ordination and, tbh, I don’t think it does. Being involved behind the scenes is one thing, advocating for (or against) a candidate or party is another altogether. Canon law effectively requires priests to be apolitical (at least publicly - they can think and vote according to their conscience) for a reason and it’s not up to me, fr Pavone or any other priest for that matter to decide that the rules don’t suit him and so ignore them.
 
InThePew said:
a candidate or party is another altogether. Canon law effectively requires priests to be apolitical
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The thing is, with abortion, it is so easy to say what needs to be said morally clearly convey your beliefs and opinions about an election without mentioning parties or persons. Why an intelligent man like Fr. Pavone would take a more direct option with open campaigning I cannot know.
 
Priests should be teaching what the Church believes and stay out of politics. If that is done properly the faithful can know who to vote for. Priests and bishops also have a duty to speak out when politicians falsely claim that the Church teaches what it does not teach.
 
Right or wrong, some priests might see these things as unconscionable to have weak responses too.

I know that during the struggle for civil rights, some clergy saw this as necessary to protest against. Protest against inequality. Not just shrug one’s shoulders and say, well, I need to stay out of politics.

There are a few issues like this.
 
I have never heard my own bishop preach so forcefuly as he did at the Red Mass when he called same sex “marriage” unjust and a great injustice to children. At that same time we had a US Senator who was a Catholic from our diocese who had come out in favor of same sex “marriage”. The bishop never mentioned his name, but everyone in this politically connected assembly knew about this former politician’s stance. He was soundly defeated in the 2018 election.

Our bishop also built an alliance with the many Lutheran churches in our area on the issues of marriage and the contraceptive mandate in the regulations that came from the Affordable Care Act, but never mentioned a politician by name, as far as I know. The Lutherans supported religious liberty without having to agree with Catholics on the morality of contraception.
 

Your post put me in mind of that “For Greater Glory” movie of 2012. The story of the Mexican Cristero War.

Some priests, like the Peter O’Toole character were pacifists and would not fight, even though they knew the anti-Catholic government of Calles was wrong to close the churches (with soldiers breaking through the doors in one scene). Others decided it was their duty to defend the Church even with their lives (and many were martyred).

Should things in the U.S. get as bad for Catholics as it was in Mexico, 1926 … what would WE do … let alone the clergy? Never thought I’d see empty Catholic Churches across the world as we see them today. “It’s the pandemic” and sure to return to normal anytime (right? or not?). What if not, and we have the forceful shutdown of the Churches? Why didn’t our clergy step up when they could have … their silence made the evils coming our way seem justified (some may say THEN).

One thing for certain. Satan would like to shut the Churches down forever.

How silent should the Church be in matters of the state in a democracy where the flock votes?
The same press that excoriates Pope Pius XII for not doing more to “stop Hitler” when he “had a chance” … in some quarters is disturbed that a priest like Father Pavone is “taking a side politically” too much, by backing the one major candidate for President that IS pro-life and opposing the (fellow Catholic 🤔) who supports abortion in almost all situations.

Hope “For Greater Glory” is not a preview of what’s in store for the U.S. in THESE '20s.
 
Father Pavone, some may not be well acquainted with who he is but he has been doing this work and been in the public eye for at least, 30 years I think, I wold see or hear him in the 1990s. He has been doing this for a long time.

And then, an administration came through that shares some of the same goals per the pro-life movement. They gave him some recognition. “Serve on our board” the way they’ve asked some others to serve for other projects, say on Asia and the plight of the Uighurs.

So, just some perspective.
 
CaptFun said:
How silent should the Church be in matters of the state in a democracy where the flock votes?
The same press that excoriates Pope Pius XII for not doing more to “stop Hitler” when he “had a chance” … in some quarters is disturbed that a priest like Father Pavone is “taking a side politically” too much,
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The point is that he was in violation of canon law.
Trader’s post above yours gives excellent examples of clergy standing up for Catholic values without violating canon law.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
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pnewton:
So we had a priest serving as a campaign advisory??? That seems oddly inappropriate.
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It is, and he was told to knock it off.

Fr. Pavone is well known for pushing the envelope in his activism for pro-life.
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I think this goes well beyond “pushing the envelope”:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...s-on-the-altar-in-an-appeal-for-donald-trump/
 
CaptFun said:
Why didn’t our clergy step up when they could have … their silence made the evils coming our way seem justified (some may say THEN).
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Our clergy were the ones deciding to suspend public masses. There is no comparison to the Cristero war. It’s apples and Volkswagens.
 
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Priests can certainly protest abortion. Many do. They should not be endorsing political candidates.
 
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