Anti-abortion priest Pavone defrocked for blasphemous posts

Frank Pavone, an anti-abortion priest in the U.S., was defrocked by the Vatican for making "defamatory communications on social media."

The decision against Pavone, who heads the anti-abortion group Priests for Life, had been made in November, according to a letter from the Vatican's ambassador to the U.S.

The then-diocese of Amarillo, Texas, investigated Pavone for placing an aborted fetus on an altar and posting a video of it on social media. The video of the aborted fetus was accompanied by a post that said that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic platform would allow abortion to continue and that Donald Trump and the Republican platform wanted to protect unborn children.

Pavone wears a "MAGA" hat with a background photo of the former U.S. president, who many conservatives praise for his Supreme Court nominees who overturned the landmark decision guaranteeing a constitutional right to abortion in the U.S.

He compared his fate to that of the unborn.

If you defend the Unborn, you will be treated the same as them. We continue to speak loudly and clearly when we areaborted.

His supporters immediately denounced the measure, including the bishop of Tyler, Texas, who referred to U.S. President Joe Biden as "evil".

While an evil president promotes the denial of truth and the murder of the unborn at every turn, Vatican officials promote immorality and priests promote gender confusion.

After appealing to the Vatican over the restrictions placed on his ministry by the Amarillo bishop, Pavone was able to get the restrictions loosened and moved away from Texas.

Pierre cited information from the Congregation for Clergy that Pavone had been laicized, which means he can no longer present himself as a priest. The letter was reported by a news agency.

Pavone was given ample opportunity to defend himself and submit to his bishop, according to the statement. Father Pavone had no reason to do what he did.

Since Priests for Life is not a Catholic organization, it would be up to the group to decide if he could continue as a lay person.

One of the most severe sanctions in the church's canon law is laicization.