However, how the various headlines are written reflect the political bend of the headline writer.

NEGATIVE HEADLINES

Vatican Removes Anti-Abortion Activist From the Priesthood (New York Times) …

Anti-abortion advocate Frank Pavone losing priesthood over social media posts (Washington Examiner) …

Vatican dismisses Trump-supporting, anti-abortion leader from priesthood (Reuters) …

Controversial US Priest Frank Pavone Defrocked For 'Blasphemous' Posts, Pro-Trump Activism (Huffington Post) …

Vatican defrocks pro-Trump priest activist for anti-abortion posts (YAHOO! News)
Vatican defrocks pro-Trump priest activist for anti-abortion posts (BBC) …

Anti-abortion priest Pavone defrocked for blasphemous posts (Religion News Service)

POSITIVE HEADLINES

Vatican kicks pro-life activist priest out of clergy, alleges 'blasphemous communications' (FOX News) …

Vatican defrocks leading US pro-life priest Frank Pavone (Washington Times) …

Critics Decry 'Evil' After Vatican Defrocks Pro-Life Priest Frank Pavone (Faith Wire)

Vatican kicks pro-life activist priest out of clergy (World News Daily) …

Pro-life activist and Trump apologist Frank Pavone dismissed from Catholic priesthood (National Catholic Reporter) …

The Frank Pavone story is not about abortion
(Our Sunday Visitor)

Vatican Terminates Pro-Life Activist Priest for Alleged ‘Blasphemous Communications’ (Christianity Daily) …

Outspoken pro-life priest defrocked by Vatican (WORLD) …

NEUTRAL HEADLINES

Frank Pavone Defrocked (National Review);

Vatican defrocks Priest for Life Director Frank Pavone (Just The News) …

Frank Pavone Has Been Laicized (Patheos) …

Vatican defrocks Father Frank Pavone for blasphemous posts, disobedience (America Magazine) …

Vatican dismisses Father Frank Pavone from priesthood (Catholic News Agency) …

Vatican Removes Fr. Frank Pavone, Pope Francis Plays Key Roll (Newsmax) …

Vatican defrocks MAGA priest for 'blasphemous' social media posts, 'persistent di sobedience' (The Week) …

Fr. Frank Pavone Fired By Vatican (Catholic Arena) …

JUST THE FACTS

The facts are the same. A conservative priest has been defrocked by the Vatican for his strong pro-life stance. But it is how the headline is written that tilts the story.

WHO: A conservative priest … a radical priest … a controversial priest … a disobedient priest … a firebrand priest … an outspoken priest …

WHAT: Defrocked … laicized … deposed … kicked out of the priesthood …

WHEN: November … weeks leading up to Thanksgiving …

WHERE: The Vatican …

WHY: For his strong pro-life stance … for his anti-abortion rhetoric … for creating scandal …

POLITICAL SLANT
How the headline is written draws attention to a news article and reveals the tone of the entire story.

Negative headlines, usually written by the mainstream media, tend to highlight the opposing view using the prefix "anti" as a modifier as in anti-abortion … anti-trans … anti-gay marriage … anti-gun …

Positive headlines, mostly written by the religious-based media, accentuate optimism with the modifying prefix "pro" such as in pro-life … pro-marriage … pro-family … pro-Second Amendment …

Neutral headlines, written by the disinterested secular press, give the basic facts without editorializing. Catholic priest removed from priesthood … Episcopal bishop involved in fatal hit and run accident … Lutheran pastor faces embezzlement charges … Priest marries nun, both leave Catholic Church to become Episcopalians …

FIFTH MEDIA MUSINGS

Then there is the newly-emerged "Fifth Estate," the Internet social media blogosphere — Facebook … Twitter … Instagram — where the hidden trolls hide and spew with their own form of venom from all sides while many times concealing their true identity.

KTRUSH: Francis' action in laicizing Pavone is not — to use one of the Pope's favorite terms — pastoral. It's also not pastoral, let alone good PR, to take extreme measures against one priest while allowing lunatic, criminal and perverted clerics to scandalize and confuse the faithful. …

YOMAMASOUGLY: Hilarious! So they can kick some priests out for social media posts, but hundreds of others that sexually abuse children don't even get a slap on the wrist.

DAMEEM: Seems to have plenty of followers. As he's American and now a celebrity he will probably start up his own Church and be rolling in money.

MB: Why start with Fr. Pavone???
James Martin, the gay Jesuit, has been around for more than ten years and has written all kinds of cockamamie books about Bridge Joining. Do you remember his gay rosary??? …

MINDCLEAR: If you join a cult, bad things happen. …

MONTEZUMA'SREVENGE: BE wary of false prophets. TRUMP hasn't seen the inside of a church since he stood at one's door steps. …

LISAKMAYO Let me guess....it's Trump's fault?? Hahaha nope. …

MK250: I am Catholic, but this ex-priest is a jackass. …

THEOAKTREE: Is the pope Catholic ? Nope. …

IJKABC: Even an institution as conservative and reactionary as the Catholic Church can't stomach the MAGAgots. …

MKIRK: No more Fr. for you Frank. …

AJAY: Truly amazing. Fr. James Martin. Heretical priest, in good standing. Joe Biden. Catholic who publicly speaks against Catholic teaching, in good standing. Fr. Frank Pavone. Pro-life Catholic priest, removed from the priesthood. Evil. …

BLACKIRISHBLONDE: The Catholic Church has lost its moral standing. …

LTERLANGER: If he's a Trumper he's obviously got a few dominos missing from the box. …

SYEBYD: How does a Pope get defrocked? …

Now, many times religious stories become political. The focus is shifted from the Atonement of Christ on the Cross to politics where the focus is shifted away
from the Eternal to the shifting sands of national allegiances and political entanglements.

Hence you have Bishops United Against Gun Violence, a coalition of more than 100 anti-gun Episcopal bishops who march for an end to gun violence while wearing orange stoles. They actively advocate for a political solution to poverty, racism and violence.

Unfortunately there are usually more negative "anti" headlines than positive "pro" headlines and even fewer "neutral" headlines.

The now-former Roman Catholic priest in question, (Mr.) Frank Pavone, is being freely painted with the anti-abortion brush indicating that being pro-life 0p is a bad thing.

ANTI-ABORTION IS PRO-LIFE

Actually the term "anti-abortion" is in reality pro-life. Something North American Anglicans champion.

Even Wikipedia picks up on the negative connotation in describing ACNA's Anglicans For Life.

"Anglicans for Life (AFL) is the anti-abortion ministry of the Anglican Church in North America and internationally associated with some members of the Anglican Communion, specifically of GAFCON," Wikipedia explains.

Anglicans for Life is not an anti-abortion ministry, it is a pro-life ministry.

"Anglicans for Life believes that human beings are created in the image of God and that life begins at conception," the website declared. "Therefore, Anglicans for Life rejects abortion."

They also believe that partial-birth abortion is a "particularly cruel, disgusting, and violent way" to end the life of a baby.
But should an abortion take place Anglicans For Life reach out to offer the "Healing and forgiveness comes through Jesus Christ for all sins, including abortion. People suffering from physical, emotional, and spiritual trauma after abortion can experience God’s grace in their lives."

All that activity, and ministry, is a positive (pro) action not a negative (anti) reaction.

So to call a ministry such as Anglicans For Life "anti-abortion" is disingenuous.

TEC VIEWS ABORTION AS GOOD

It is The Episcopal Church which is pro-abortion and anti-family.

In July the Episcopal General Convention solidified TEC's stance on abortion when it passed Resolution D083 affirming abortion on demand up to the time of birth.

The General Convention views pregnancy and childbirth as "dangerous undertakings that risk permanent disability and death for those who bear children."

Pro-creation is the most natural thing in the world. In fact the "first commandment" God gave was to "be fruitful and multiply."

As 2023 is about to dawn, there are more than eight billion inhabitants on earth. Everyone of them was born as a baby. Everyone had a birth mother who was pregnant with them. Other than Adam and Eve, who were created directly by God, every baby has been born from a pregnant mother starting with Cain and Able whose mother was Eve. Even Jesus, the Son of God, has a human mother — Mary.

But that is what Christmas is all about — the physical Birth of Jesus Christ. But the Christ Child seems to get lost in the mix with all the hype and commercialization, the tinsel and the tree, parties and gifts, and Santa Claus and his reindeer.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it' …" (Genesis 1:27-28)

"And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, 'I have gotten a man from the Lord.' And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground." (Genesis 4:1-2)

Female mammals physically give birth. Cows have calves, cats have kittens, sheep have lambs, bears have cubs, goats have kids, rabbits have bunnies, horses have foals, deer have fawns, kangaroos have joeys, dogs have puppies, foxes have kits, and humans have babies.

And Mary had the Baby Jesus. Mary had the Son of God. Mary had the Word Incarnate. Mary gave birth to a Baby Boy — the Christ Child.

"This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 1:18)

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." (Luke 2:6-7)

Mary was pregnant and carried the Christ Child to term and gave birth to Him while having to travel out of town to participate in a mandated census. At the time Bethlehem was so crowded that she and Joseph could not find proper accommodations. So a manger became the Holy Infant's first cradle.

But fast forward to 2022 and the 80th General Convention determined "that access to abortion is a key element in preserving the health, independence, and autonomy of those who can bear children."

But the woke General Convention was also very careful to dance around the use of the word "woman" because after all a "transgendered man" can have a baby so the phraseology of "those who can bear children" was used.

Not only did Mary give birth but her elderly kinswoman, Elizabeth, was great with child and well past her childbearing years. Elizabeth got pregnant when in her upper 80s. Mary and Elizabeth were apparently first cousins, legend has it their mothers, St. Anne and Sobe, were blood sisters.

Elizabeth also carried her child to full term and gave birth to a boy — John (the Baptist).

If Mary and Elizabeth were first cousins, then Jesus and John would have been second cousins on their mother's side.

"When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son." (Luke 1:57)

Both Elizabeth and Mary carried their pregnancies to natural birth. Mary as an unwed teen and Elizabeth was a post menopausal octogenarian. Abortion was the furthest thing from their minds.

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH FLIPS

Also in Resolution D076 General Convention denounced the work of Crisis Pregnancy Centers which work with women faced with an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy to hopefully see the bigger picture and perhaps choose to save the life for their unborn child.

General Convention tried to officially "condemn" Crisis Pregnancy Centers and repudiate and apologize for The Episcopal Church's earlier support of such activity.

"The 80th General Convention apologizes for the Church’s previous support of Crisis Pregnancy Centers as detailed in Resolution 1994-D105," Resolution D067 says.

In 1984 the 71st General Convention commended The Episcopal Church's pro-life ministry through pregnancy care centers designed to "assist those faced with problem pregnancy."

The 71st Convention said that "the work and mission of pregnancy care centers which stress unconditional love and acceptance, for women and their unborn children."

The 1994 Convention called pregnancy care centers "an outreach of love to pregnant women and to mothers and their children."

In 1994 General Convention "commended" the ministry of the pregnancy care center. In 2022 "General Convention denounces the work of Crisis Pregnancy Centers."

"Crisis Pregnancy Centers are a wolf in sheep’s clothing, purporting to be Christian centers offering love and acceptance to the needy but instead engaging in duplicitous practices to force individuals to carry unplanned pregnancies to term," the Resolution's explanation fleshed out.

Resolution D067 passed in the House of Deputies but failed in the House of Bishops.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline