My Thoughts on the Previous Post

 I am not familiar with the case of Father Pavone, so I had to look him up on the Internet.  Apparently, he is a very strong and outspoken activist opposing direct abortion.  However, he was laicized for blasphemous communications on social media as well as persistent disobedience. Those allegations may actually be true. An investigation was launched against Father Frank Pavone after he placed an aborted fetus on an altar and posted a video of it online.  According to Catholic News Services:

The Diocese of Amarillo, Texas, said in a statement it is investigating the incident of a pro-life priest who placed “the body of an aborted fetus” on an altar and broadcast it on Facebook Live to get people to vote for Republican Donald J. Trump, causing “the desecration of the altar.” 

“We believe that no one who is pro-life can exploit a human body for any reason, especially the body of a fetus,” said Amarillo Bishop Patrick J. Zurek in a Nov. 8 statement. Its use for political purposes by one of the diocese’s priests was “against the dignity of human life,” he added. 

Pro-life supporters in the Catholic Church denounced activist Father Frank Pavone for what he said was an “emergency situation” on the eve of the U.S. presidential election. 

“What did he do?” wrote Ed Mechmann, a public policy director whose areas of concern include pro-life issues, in a blog for the Archdiocese of New York. “He used a dead aborted baby, laying naked and bloody on an altar, as a prop for his video.” 

But Father Pavone, no stranger to controversial situations, said he was trying to drive home, in a visual and impactful way, what it meant to choose one presidential candidate over the other on Election Day. Father Pavone, appealing for votes for Trump, said he was showing “the Democrats’ support of baby-killing.”

“I’m showing the reality,” he said in an interview on Election Day with Catholic News Service. Father Pavone is a member of Trump’s Catholic advisory group.

I am on the Bishop's side on this one, and I do not see any remorse from Father Pavone in his interview.  Speaking out against abortion is fine, but one does not need to do something so outrageous and sacrilege for the purpose of getting a message across.  From Father Gordon's blog, I assume that Father Pavone may have a similar character trait as Donald Trump.  According to Father Gordon's statement of Father Frank Pavone and Father James Altman: 

I have written of my belief that their message might be more effective with some toning down of their rhetoric.

I have said the same thing about Donald Trump.  His foreign policies were effective, but he needed to tone down his rhetoric. Nevertheless, even I must admit that Trump was successful in getting Kim Jong-Un to stop launching missiles in our area. In fact, Trump became the first sitting President to meet with Kim Jong-Un and to step inside North Korea. While those crass rhetoric earned him the respect of a dictator, it unfortunately created enemies among his own party.  So, Father Pavone may be culpable of those allegations.

Nevertheless, we do need bishops and priests to be courageous enough to speak the truth, but not bishops and priests who will go so far as to commit something outrageous as placing an aborted child on an altar. One such bishop who was strong and courageous to speak out against abortion and same-sex marriage was the former Archbishop of Agana, Anthony Apuron, now Bishop Anthony Apuron.  Bishop Anthony opposed abortion that he threatened to excommunicate any Catholic Senator who opposed the bill.  According to news report (the bold is mine):

Guam's 21-member unicameral Legislature unanimously approved the bill March 8 after Archbishop Anthony Apuron threatened in an interview with a television reporter to excommunicate any Roman Catholic senator who voted against it. All but one of the senators is Catholic, as is Ada. However, most of the senators said they were unaware of the threat.

So, even without knowing of the Archbishop's threat, they voted for the bill anyway.  Was it wrong for Bishop Anthony to threatened excommunication?  No, because under Canon law those who promote abortion would automatically be excommunicated anyway.  According to the article:

Those Catholics who promote abortion are automatically excommunicated for two reasons. First, they have fallen into the sin of heresy by believing that abortion is not always gravely immoral (canons 751 and 1364). Second, these Catholics are providing substantial assistance for women to obtain abortions by influencing public policy to make abortions legal, and to keep abortions legal, and to broaden access to abortion. Those who provide such substantial assistance commit a mortal sin and incur a sentence of automatic excommunication (canon 1398).

Under Apuron's leadership, the most restrictive ban on abortion was passed.  Bishop Anthony also opposed the legislation on same-sex marriage when it was introduced by Senator B.J. Cruz.  Bishop Anthony never attacked B.J. Cruz.  He had always attacked the bill, which would legalize same-sex marriage.  According to his letter dated August 27, 2015 (the bold is mine): 

Sisters and brothers: In the face of recent events undertaken by the U.S. District Court of Guam, the U.S. Supreme Court and the 33rd Guam Legislature in redefining marriage, the Church stands firm on her teaching that marriage is between one man, and one woman.

Disagreement is not discrimination. These recent laws force the people of Guam, and of the United States, to either agree with a particular political position or face ridicule and sanction for discrimination. These types of laws not only undermine the precepts of the United States Constitution to freedom of speech, but also undermine and attempt to eradicate the constitutional right to Freedom of Religion.

These times compel the Church to expose the intentions of those who have deceivingly disguised same-sex unions as an issue of equality and anti-discrimination. It is important to understand that the political pressure to push the agenda for same-sex “marriage” has never been about gay rights; the true intention behind this agenda has always been about the destruction of the family and the imposition of the totalitarian system. The approval of same-sex “marriage” has now thrown open the doors of Guam to implement in our community a very clever and systematic theory, which has as its aim the destruction of marriage and family through the annihilation of any sexual differences among persons. This theory is known as the “Theory of Gender.”

At the political level, in order to avoid “discrimination” among the genders, a principle of “radical equality” has been imposed upon society, demanding and forcing society to have a neutral response to gender. Any objection is considered not only discriminatory and intolerant, but bigotry.

The next step will be to implement this theory in the educational system of Guam. This means that our children, your children, will be forced to assimilate to this pattern of non-gender; that there is no such thing as “male” or “female” — they will be encouraged to explore their sexuality earlier, and parents will have no voice in the education of their children. These ideas are already part of an international agenda promoted especially by the United Nations. The laws just passed on our beautiful island, which were disguised to fight against discrimination, will now work to subvert our human sexuality from the most tender age with the goal to abolish the natural family and create new “models” of a family.

I truly believe we are being led astray like lambs to a slaughter. In my view, these recent laws are not a sign of human progress, but are dangerous steps toward annihilation of our fundamental religious beliefs. As shepherd of the local Church of Guam, I urge every person to be mindful that each of us is answerable to the supreme judge for what we do and do not do.

I invite all the faithful, including those in every branch of our local government, not to deny your faith, but to have the courage to be a witness to the truth: the truth about life, about man, about marriage and about family. Do not be afraid! Christ is the truth, and the truth will set us free.

Anthony SablanApuron, OFM Cap., D.D., is archbishop of Agana.

Under Apuron's leadership, the same-sex marriage bill was defeated in the 33rd Guam Legislature.  

Interestingly, what I placed in bold in his letter above is already happening in the United States with transgenderism.  Critical Race Theory is being implemented in America's schools, teaching very young children about "gender" and exploring their sexuality. Young children are being taught that there are over 100 genders. Reading, writing, science, and math are all out the window.  Also, when Bishop Anthony heard that B.J. Cruz was sexually abused as a boy by a priest in California, he was compassionate and sympathetic that he apologized to Senator Cruz for the sexual abuse done to him.  The Archbishop had never attacked B.J. Cruz as a person.  He attacked only the bill proposed by the Guam Legislature and authored by B.J. Cruz.   

So, bishops and priests are needed to stand by the truth.  Unfortunately, we have bishops who do not follow the truth.  This was the reason why the U.S. Bishops wanted to draft a policy, stating that politicians (such as Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, etc.) should not receive Holy Communion.  However, the bishops are divided on this issue.  Apparently, this policy has more to do with the Bishops coming together in agreement over something that is already in the books.