Franciscan Priest Pardoned by Trump Expresses Gratitude and Challenges Existing Abortion Laws

New York, January 31, 2025: President Donald Trump issued pardons on January 23, for 23 pro-life activists arrested for violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinics (FACE) Act, including Father Fidelis Moscinski, a Catholic priest and member of the Franciscan Fathers of the Renewal. Trump, who signed the pardons in the Oval Office, emphasized that these individuals, many of whom are elderly, should never have been prosecuted.

Father Moscinski, who had been incarcerated for his peaceful pro-life activism, was particularly vocal about the injustice of his prosecution. Following his release, Moscinski expressed his deep gratitude to President Trump for correcting the wrongs of his incarceration. However, he also used the opportunity to criticize Trump’s position on abortion, which supports the idea that states should decide abortion laws.

"Although it might be politically expedient to say that each state should make its own laws about abortion, this position is morally incoherent," Moscinski stated. "We invite President Trump to abandon this incoherence and show himself to be a president of all Americans — born and unborn."

The Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based public interest law firm, had filed formal requests for the pardon of 21 pro-life activists, including Moscinski. In addition to him, other activists, such as Joan Bell, Coleman Boyd, and Lauren Handy, were granted pardons. Handy, who is serving a 57-month sentence for her participation in a 2020 abortion clinic blockade, remains incarcerated, as do several other activists.

The release comes as a win for the pro-life movement, which celebrated the decision. Steve Crampton, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, remarked that the pardons allowed the activists to return to their families, emphasizing that they were "heroic" individuals unjustly imprisoned under the Biden administration.

Despite this victory, Father Moscinski’s comments underscored the ongoing battle against abortion, calling for an end to the "daily and horrific injustice" that continues to affect unborn children.

By Catholic Connect Reporter

Image credit: National Catholic Reporter