PERSON: Frank Pavone

Priests for Life

National Director

Frank Anthony Pavone (born February 4, 1959) is an American anti-abortion activist and a laicised former Roman Catholic priest. He is the national director of Priests for Life and the chairman and pastoral director of its Rachel’s Vineyard project. He is also the president of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, an umbrella group of various anti-abortion Christian denominations, and the pastoral director of the Silent No More campaign.

The Vatican defrocked Pavone for “blasphemous” social media posts and disobedience of his bishop on November 9, 2022. The defrocking mandated that Pavone no longer present himself as a priest, although he has continued to do so.

Pavone’s anti-abortion activism was not cited as the reason for his dismissal. However, he had been involved in other controversies, including financial scrutiny of Priests for Life and a 2016 livestream in which he placed an unclothed, aborted fetus onto an altar. In February 2023, Pavone was asked to step down as national director of Priests for Life after allegations were released that he sexually harassed multiple women.

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