The liberal Catholic groups are often at odds with the Catholic Bishops theologically, and on abortion politics. But it turns out that this year some of the conservative Catholic groups are rebelling against the hierarchy over tactics.
The Bishops had decided that only official church political literature should be allowed on church premises, not voter guides from conservative or liberal advocacy groups.
That prompted a fascinating email exchange between Chris Korzen of the progressive group Catholics United, and Father Frank Pavone, of the conservative group Priests for Life.
Catholics United sent an email October 30 warning their members that Priests for Life were planning to post literature in church parking lots this weekend:

On Monday the partisan group Priests for Life held a teleseminar to train some 3,300 activists nationwide on how to place divisive political literature on the windshield of every churchgoing Catholic’s car this Saturday and Sunday….
Call your pastor and encourage him to instruct the ushers to monitor the church parking lot during the worship service….
The extreme right will stop at nothing to distort church teaching for political gain. It’s time to say that enough is enough. Catholics are tired of our faith being used as a political weapon.

Father Pavone saw the email and suggested that they were ready to file lawsuits, including against Catholics United:

Please inform those to whom you communicate that they might also want to alert their pastors that a large number of people are ready to file lawsuits against any individual or institution who tries to intimidate or prevent citizens from fostering the electoral process or informing their fellow citizens about the candidates…..
Pastors and dioceses want to avoid “legal entanglements,” and the activity you recommend here will get them entangled far faster than mine will. Obviously, an email like the one you sent below would implicate you in such entanglements as well.

Korzen, noting the threat, asked about that “legal entanglements” phrase. Pavone responded that “some people” might sue priests who stop voters from distributing materials. He indicated that, in a way, they both had a similar interest, as outside groups wanting to get their message out. Pavone wrote:

Those who want to shut down the First Amendment will exclude your materials, too. it’s remarkable what kind of “reasoning” I hear from some pastors and dioceses. “We can’t allow this group to distribute fliers in the parking lot, even if we agree with the fliers, because then someone else will distribute fliers we don’t agree with.”
Wow. It sounds like a group of nervous grandmothers afraid of what strangers are going to lead their children astray and make them forget everything those grandmothers have tried to teach them.

Incredulous that Pavone, a conservative, would be challenging the church, Korzen wrote:

Fr frank – so what you’re saying is that some of your supporters intend to use civil law to undermine the ecclesial authority of their pastor, and in some cases the local bishop? That’s a fascinating turn of events – and definitely newsworthy.

Pavone wrote back this extraordinary email:

Chris
The “ecclesial authority” to do what, try to stop citizens from actually putting into practice what the Church says they should do in the civic arena? Or does the Church not really want them to be active citizens according to the American system?
Newsworthy indeed. The Church is going to come out of this looking irrelevant, foolish, and reactionary. A new era of clericalism has begun, and a lay group supports it while a clergy group opposes it.
Yes, it’s newsworthy.
Fr. Frank