Frank Pavone

Frank Pavone leads Priests for Life, a U.S. anti-abortion organization. For many years he was a familiar pro-life voice on the Catholic television network EWTN. In his own account in LifeSiteNews, he says Mother Angelica asked him to create a series on abortion for EWTN, and that the program, Defending Life, began airing in January 1995. EWTN News/CNA reported that he hosted the show for many years, until Bishop Patrick J. Zurek of Amarillo, Texas, withdrew his permission to appear on the network.

Conflict with his bishop. According to CNA, the Diocese of Amarillo investigated Pavone in 2016 after he placed an aborted fetus on an altar and posted a video of it on social media. In 2017 Zurek wrote that he would seek Pavone's laicization unless Pavone requested it himself. The Associated Press reported that the bishop had repeatedly objected to Pavone's political advocacy for Donald Trump. The AP also reported that Pavone disputed Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

Dismissal from the clerical state. On Nov. 9, 2022, the Dicastery for the Clergy dismissed Pavone from the clerical state, with no possibility of appeal. The stated grounds were blasphemous communications on social media and persistent disobedience of his diocesan bishop's lawful instructions. The apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, informed U.S. bishops in a letter dated Dec. 13, and the decision was reported publicly on Dec. 17–18, 2022 (CNA; AP via Crux). Pavone said he had learned of the decision from reporters. He linked the blasphemy finding to a 2020 tweet, called the process abusive, and accused Zurek of lying (Crux). He also said a future pope could reinstate him (CNA). The canon lawyer Fr. Gerald Murray told CNA that the Code of Canon Law does not list dismissal among the possible penalties for those offenses, and argued that Pavone should arguably have been warned in advance that it was possible. A dismissed cleric may not exercise priestly ministry except in narrow circumstances, such as when a person is in danger of death (CNA explainer).

Since 2023. Catholic World Report/CNA reported in April 2023 on divisions in the pro-life movement over his continued leadership. In 2026 he wrote political columns for Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit, whose author biographies still described him as national director of Priests for Life. One of them, published in April 2026, was titled "Perspectives on the Pope and the President".