Vatican defrocks pro-Trump priest activist for anti-abortion posts

The Vatican has defrocked a US-based priest for "blasphemous" social media posts and activism in support of former President Donald Trump.

A letter to US bishops from the Vatican's US ambassador accused the priest, Frank Pavone, of "persistent disobedience".

In 2016, Mr Pavone, who heads the anti-abortion group Priests for Life, put an aborted foetus on an altar and broadcast it online.

His defrocking cannot be appealed.

Defrocking - the process of being reduced to a 'lay state' in which clerical status is taken away from a priest - is among the harshest sanctions available in the Catholic church's canon law.

Mr Pavone has been an outspoken anti-abortion and pro-Trump activist for more than a decade, setting the stage for repeated clashes with church officials in various diocese. He frequently comments on US politics through his social media platforms.

After the 2020 election, for example, the diocese condemned Mr Pavone's use of social media to call into question the results of the 2020 election which Mr Trump lost, saying that his political positions weren't consistent with Catholic teachings.

In a statement accompanying the letter announcing his defrocking - which was first obtained by Catholic News Agency - Archbishop Cristophe Pierre, Vatican's ambassador to the US, wrote that Mr Pavone had "multiple opportunities to submit himself to the authority of his diocesan bishop".

"It was determined that Father Pavone had no reasonable justification for his actions," the statement sad.

On Twitter, Mr Pavone, who now lives in Florida, remained defiant and vowed to continue his anti-abortion activism. Additionally, he remains an ardent supporter of Mr Trump, and wears a red "Make America Great Again" cap in his profile picture, along with an image of him besides the former President.

"In every profession, including the priesthood, if you defend the unborn, you will be treated like them," he wrote. "The only difference is that when we are aborted, we continue to speak, loud and clear."

In a subsequent video posted to social media, Mr Pvaone said that the "war" on abortions would continue. He also accused the Catholic Church of "cancel culture".

Among those who have come out in support of Mr Pavone was Joseph Strickland, the Bishop of Texas.

"Vatican officials promote immorality and denial of the deposit of faith and priests promote gender confusion devastating lives...evil," he wrote.