Priests for Life

Priests for Life is a U.S. anti-abortion advocacy organization whose national director is Frank Pavone. Pavone's EWTN series Defending Life was closely tied to his work with the group. In his own account in LifeSiteNews, he says Mother Angelica commissioned the series and that it began airing in January 1995. EWTN News/CNA reported that he hosted it for many years, until his bishop, Patrick J. Zurek of Amarillo, Texas, withdrew permission for him to appear on the network.

In December 2022 it became public that the Dicastery for the Clergy had dismissed Pavone from the clerical state on Nov. 9, 2022. The stated grounds were blasphemous communications on social media and persistent disobedience of his bishop (CNA). The Associated Press reported at the time that Priests for Life is not a Catholic organization. As a result, the group itself would decide whether Pavone could keep his role as a layman.

Pavone stayed in charge. In April 2023, Catholic World Report/CNA reported on divisions in the U.S. pro-life movement over his continued leadership. Author bios on his 2026 opinion columns, such as one in Breitbart, describe him as national director of Priests for Life and national pastoral director of Rachel's Vineyard Ministries. In one of those columns he argued that it was time for the Senate to end the filibuster. In April 2026 he wrote a piece for The Gateway Pundit titled "Perspectives on the Pope and the President".