Priests for Life Continues to Endorse Trump

Thanks to another negligent board

Here we go again.

Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life (PFL), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is endorsing Donald Trump for President in 2024.

The laicized priest will be appearing tonight on Christine Harrington’s Eternal Life Plan YouTube channel to explain his continued support for Trump, despite the Republican candidate’s shifting position on abortion.

As the leader of Priests for Life, Pavone has been promoting Trump’s candidacy for President since 2016. In fact, it may be his zeal for Trump that cost him his collar.

In 2016, just a few days before the November election, Pavone posted a video on Facebook in which he displayed the body of an infant he claimed had been aborted.

I wasn’t able to find the original post, but Inside Edition’s reporting includes some of the footage.

 Inside Edition says Pavone captioned the video with this warning:

“Hillary Clinton and the Democratic platform says yes, let the child-killing continue (and you pay for it). Donald Trump and the Republican platform says no, the child should be protected.”

Frankly, I’m not sure how Pavone gets away with it. Here’s what the IRS says on its website about 501(c)3 nonprofits and political endorsements.

“A section 501(c)(3) organization may not publish or distribute printed statements or make oral statements on behalf of, or in opposition to, a candidate for public office.  Consequently, a written or oral endorsement of a candidate is strictly forbidden.”

But then, Pavone isn’t the kind of guy who plays by the rules. Ask any of his bishops.

After the aborted baby on the altar incident and the subsequent outcry, Pavone’s bishop, Patrick J. Zurek of the diocese of Amarillo, TX, issued a statement first clarifying that Priests for Life is not a Catholic organization and is not under his supervision.

He said the post was “against the dignity of human life and is a 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.”

In 1993, Cardinal John O’Connor appointed Pavone to direct the newly established non-profit organization Priests for Life. In 2005, after a disagreement with Cardinal Edward Egan, Pavone transferred from New York to the diocese of Amarillo, Texas.

In 2006, Pavone’s ambitions led him to announce the establishment of a religious community and seminary called Missionaries of the Gospel of Life. He raised a bunch of money for the project and then it all just collapsed.

It’s the same kind of problem Steve Bannon ran into. He was associated with an organization called We Build the Wall that collected money to help President Trump build a wall on the U.S. southern border, except it didn’t build the wall. The money was siphoned off – three of the organization’s officials went to jail; Trump pardoned Bannon or he would have gone to jail too.

During the 2006-2008 PFL period, Catholic World News did an analysis of the organization’s tax returns and found heavy spending on overhead, a big no-no in nonprofit management. Obviously, donors want to see expenditures on programs not office suites. At the time, PFL was showing annual revenue at the $30M level.

Some of the same mismanagement is still going on with the organization. Despite Pavone being defrocked (the official Catholic term is laicized), despite credible accusations of sexual harassment against Pavone, despite a history of questionable financial management, the board of Priests for Life continues to support Pavone in his role as National Director.

One look at the most recent IRS Form 990, Part 1, questions 3 and 4 will give you strong hint about how that’s possible.

Part 1 #3: “Number of voting members of the governing board.”

Part 1 #4: “Number of independent voting members of the governing board.”

The most recent filing from PFL is 2022. There are eight members of the governing board; four of them are paid employees. In other words, fifty percent of the board’s members are in a financial conflict of interest and are therefore not in a position to evaluate Pavone’s management of the organization.

Trust But Verify contacted Priests for Life’s communications officer, Leslie Palma, for updated information on the board.

1.        How many people are on your board?

2.        Please provide the names of your current board members and indicate which ones are independent voting members. 

3.        I'm looking at a Facebook post from Mickey Kelly on the PFL page that says Father Denis Wilde "an Augustinian priest, and one of only 3 Priests for Life, tells his life story." How many priests are officially associated with Priests for Life? Can you estimate the number of priests who are "unofficially" affiliated with PFL?  What did Mr. Kelly mean when he said "one of only three Priests for Life?"

4.        The most recent audit on your website is from 2021. Is there an audit from 2022 or 2023?

5.        Is Father Denis Wilde still a priest in good standing with the Augustinians?

6.        Is there an activities report for 2023? 

7.        Could you explain the administrative/corporate relationship between the PFL and the "Family of Ministries?" I see that some Rachel's Vineyard organizations are separately incorporated as 501c3 organizations.

Trust But Verify phoned Palma three times, emailed her twice, texted her once, and provided written questions in advance. She didn’t respond to requests for more information.

It’s interesting to note that there is only one priest on the board of Priests for Life and it’s not Pavone.

Christine Harrington will be asking the former father some tough questions tonight. You’re going to want to tune in. If you can’t watch live, you can always watch the replay.