Pope Leo’s US nuncio bars Fr. Frank Pavone from offering funeral Mass for his mother

FLORIDA — Pope Leo’s Nuncio to the United States has refused the request of America’s best-known pro-life priest from offering a funeral Mass for his mother, who died at 91 on December 15.

Cardinal Christophe Pierre replied Thursday to a December 16 request for permission from Frank Pavone, saying “I believe that the limitations imposed by your canonical status, compounded by the complexity of your public profile, make it impossible for the request to be considered.”

Pavone, one of the most well-known pro-life priests around the world, was laicized by personal order of Pope Francis in 2022, in a move widely believed to be punishment for Pavone’s stance on abortion which was so opposite that of Francis, who welcomed abortionists and population controllers into the Vatican. ---More...

I just asked Fr. Pavone @frfrankpavone what he thought about Pope Leo's representative refusing him permission to offer a funeral mass for his mom who just died.

Here was Fr. Pavone's reply: "I do not need any lectures about Canon law. I need common sense, compassion, and what…

— John-Henry Westen (@JhWesten)December 19, 2025

I just asked Fr. Pavone what he thought about Pope Leo's representative refusing him permission to offer a funeral mass for his mom who just died.

Here was Fr. Pavone's reply: "I do not need any lectures about Canon law. I need common sense, compassion, and what Pope Francis called “accompaniment,“ which the Vatican seems to love to talk about rather than practice.

For the last 24 years I have had it up to my ears with canon lawyers and bishops who pay no attention to nurturing my vocation or the work of the prolife movement.

But I know exactly what my vocation is, as do those who support me, and nothing, absolutely nothing, will keep me from pursuing it for the saving of the unborn, the healing of those wounded by abortion, and the encouragement of the prolife people of God."

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