Bishop Zurek: Concerns About Priests For Life Have Been "Favorably Addressed"

BY: Kresta in the Afternoon

By Kathy Schiffer

Fr. Frank Pavone at the U.S. Supreme Court

In 2011 Bishop Patrick Zurek, bishop of the Diocese of Amarillo, sent a letter to all the bishops of the United States, advising them that he had so many concerns about Priests For Life’s $10 million budget that the organization’s national director, Fr. Frank Pavone, shouldn’t be trusted with donors’ money.

For a full year, while an investigation was pending, Father Pavone was restricted to working from a small cell in a Texas convent.  He was unable to continue his travel and speaking schedule on behalf of the unborn.  The high-profile case was sent to the Vatican for review.

Bishop Zurek

Finally, in December 2013, Bishop Zurek sent a letter to the bishops of the United States, informing them that all the concerns he had addressed with regard to the Staten Island-based Priests For Life (PFL) “have been favorably received and addressed by the Congregation for Clergy.”

Bishop Zurek is quoted in the Long Island Catholic:

“My concerns included some restructuring of PFL so that it would have juridic personality and become a true ecclesial association. Also included was a request for more adequate and transparent reporting of finances to the competent ecclesiastical authority. Both of these requests have been favorably addressed by the Congregation of Clergy.”