Fr. Pavone applauds Archbishop Gomez

Today's Los Angeles Times (click on this post's title) has an excellent letter to the editor from Fr. Frank Pavone, the founder and national director of Priests for Life. Here it is:

"Anyone chosen to take over as leader of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles must be 'concerned about doctrinal purity,' as Loyola professor Father Thomas P. Rausch put it in The Times, and should insist that Catholics adhere to church teachings on abortion and other issues.

"It's hard to tell if Rausch agrees this is a good thing, but at Priests for Life, we applaud the selection of Archbishop Gomez to lead Catholics in 'laid-back Southern California.'

"To have someone with an unambiguous commitment to life leading the nation's largest diocese can only help our cause, which is saving the lives of thousands of babies every day.

"Also, a bishop has every right, indeed an obligation, to inject the church into national debates. Pope Benedict XVI has given us a clear mandate to do so.

"Father Frank Pavone
Staten Island, N.Y.
The writer is national director of Priests for Life."