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	Bishop Extends Order By Karen Smith Welch Amarillo Globe-News September 15, 2011 http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-09-14-1#.TnJZR10TpDU Amarillo’s Roman Catholic bishop called for financial transparency not only from Priests for Life, an anti-abortion group commanding millions in annual contributions, but also from two other nonprofits associated with a popular pro-life priest. Bishop Patrick J. Zurek has demanded that the Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, produce documentation for how donations have been handled by the Staten Island, N.Y., charity’s affiliates Rachel’s Vineyard and Missionaries of the Gospel of Life, said Monsignor Harold Waldow, vicar of clergy for the Diocese of Amarillo. Zurek has tethered Pavone indefinitely to Amarillo, cutting him off from full-time pro-life work because of a protracted dispute over financial stewardship accelerated by an apparent clash of wills. “They’re both very strong personalities,” Waldow said Tuesday. Pavone obeyed Zurek’s direction to return to Amarillo, arriving by plane from Birmingham, Ala., late Tuesday. But he also has initiated an appeal, ultimately to Rome, regarding the bishop’s decision. Zurek was not in Amarillo for Pavone’s arrival. The bishop is traveling and placed Waldow in charge of assigning duties. “I’m sure that our bishop does not stand alone on this,” Waldow said. “He is in a community of other bishops who have had the conversation also with the Holy See in Rome, asking questions as to ... what is being done with the monies. I think Rome has been quite clear the bishops of the United States need to exercise more prudential guidance and governance over the patrimony of the church. “This is patrimony of the church. It belongs to the church. People give their money over the understanding that it goes to the church or church auspices and programs and ministries.” Questioning the finances of Pavone’s charities doesn’t mean there’s a crisis, Waldow said. Priests for Life provided a 2010 audit to Zurek, Pavone said. The organization posted the audit on its website Tuesday in answer to questions Zurek raised in a fiery letter sent Friday to bishops across the nation, critizing Pavone for “incorrigible defiance to my legitimate authority.” Before celebrating a noon Mass Wednesday at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Pavone expressed bewilderment at Zurek’s claims that his pro-life group has not been financially transparent. “We have been completely transparent,” he said. “We sent him the entire check register. I am totally baffled. ... From the day he arrived as bishop (in 2008), we have been sending him material.” Though the letter specifically refers to Priests for Life, Waldow said the reference encompasses the other organizations under its umbrella. Zurek requested audits in March for Rachel’s Vineyard, which ministers to people directly affected by abortion, and Missionaries of the Gospel of Life, a lay association for Priests for Life, Pavone said. They are not yet completed. “Two of the major pieces of the international pro-life movement and national pro-life movement are missing,” Waldow said. Rachel’s Vineyard is an international ministry that collected $362,057 in contributions in 2008 for its healing programs for people who have dealt personally with abortion. But the organization spent $407,474, losing $45,417 for the year and ending with net assets of $28,918, according to its tax return. A search of GuideStar, an online nonprofit database, did not turn up tax returns for Missionaries for the Gospel of Life, a lay association for Priests for Life. Its website is a page of the Priests for Life site. The Amarillo Globe-News sent a request for financial documents and other information to Priests for Life senior adviser and public relations director Jerry Horn late Wednesday. Pavone said Zurek has not acknowledged receipt of the Priests for Life materials. Priests for Life saw contributions of $45.5 million from 2004 to 2008, according its tax returns. That amount included donations of $10.8 million in 2008. Pavone said he placed himself under the jurisdiction of the Amarillo diocese in 2005 because he was promised by now-retired Bishop John W. Yanta that he would be able to pursue full-time pro-life ministry, which he could not do at the Archdiocese of New York. “If there’s a conflict between us, it’s a conflict over that aspect of my calling,” Pavone said. But Pavone’s plans to build a $130-million pro-life seminary in Amarillo fizzled. A group of advisers to the bishop, which included Waldow, balked at adding more donated diocese property to the acreage initially offered, and Rome rejected the proposed structure of the Society for Apostolic Life that Pavone and Yanta hoped to create, Waldow said. “Bishop Yanta brought him here with the understanding that there would be some sort of presence here for Priests for Life,” Waldow said. Nothing will be built. Donated property was deeded back to the diocese in “a mutual decision,” Pavone said. The experiment taught him that keeping priests in one place wouldn’t work for a ministry that does its outreach through travel, he said. Pavone remains in good standing with the diocese, Waldow said. “I must say every time I’ve had conversations with Father Frank and asked him to do whatever the bishop might be requiring ... he’s always been very positive in his response.” Pavone expressed confidence that his stay in Amarillo will be temporary and that he and Zurek can work out their differences. But he also seems certain his ties to Amarillo may be short-lived. “I do not foresee myself staying incardinated in Amarillo,” he said. “It’s a sensitive issue. We’re working it out behind the scenes. But I say that in light of the bishop’s apparent unwillingness to let me do pro-life work full time. I will seek that elsewhere.” Contact: karen.welch@amarillo.com
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