[Note: Back in 2011, various media headlines indicated that Fr. Frank was “suspended” by his bishop. This was not true, as Fr. Frank immediately told the media. The Amarillo Diocese issued an immediate clarification, as did the Vatican some months later.
Nevertheless, some want to persist in this lie. We urge them to avoid both the sin of calumny and the legal challenges that we will launch against those who persist in spreading these rumors.
Below is one of the statements that was issued to clarify things back at that time.]
9/15/2011
Amarillo, TX – The diocese of Amarillo today stepped forward to state publicly that Fr. Frank Pavone is a priest of good standing in the Catholic Church, and that there are no claims at all being made that he did anything wrong.
Reports in the last couple of days may have led some to the opposite conclusion because the bishop wants more information regarding the finances of the ministries Fr. Pavone heads. But there is a difference between wanting more information and claiming that someone did something wrong. And the diocese wanted to stress that distinction. There is no suspicion of wrongdoing.
The letter from the Amarillo Diocese is available at https://www.priestsforlife.org/update/amarillo-clarification.pdf