Last week, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) tapped Katherine Ragsdale, a lesbian Episcopal priest, as the international abortion organization’s new president and CEO.

“Today, the National Abortion Federation Board of Directors announced that The Very Reverend Katherine Hancock Ragsdale has been named President and CEO,” NAF announced in a press release published on their website last Wednesday.

Ragsdale, who has been serving as the group’s interim president and CEO since September, gushed over the announcement, calling abortionists “heroes” and “modern-day saints.”

“It has been a great privilege to lead this organization for the last year and work alongside the incredible and dedicated NAF Board, staff, and membership,” the Christian leader said. “Abortion providers are some of my personal heroes and modern-day saints. It is an honor to be able to serve and support NAF members as they provide compassionate health care amid increasing attacks and challenges.”

“In her short time at NAF, Katherine has demonstrated her unwavering commitment to serving our members and her great vision for the future of NAF, the NAF Hotline Fund, and NAF Canada,” said NAF Board Chair Sue Carlisle. “After working with her for the last year, it was clear to the Board that the best person for the job was already leading the organization.”

The press release described Ragsdale as “an Episcopal priest who has been outspoken about abortion rights, LGBTQ equality, and public policy issues affecting women and families throughout her career.”

As noted by NAF, Ragsdale, who married fellow Episcopal priest Mally Lloyd in 2011, has previously advocated before the United States Congress for the murder of the unborn. The 60-year-old was also a featured speaker at the 2004 pro-abortion March for Women’s Lives demonstration in Washington, D.C., and has served on the national board of the “Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice” for 17 years.

According to the NAF press release, Ragsdale “has preached about how abortion is a blessing.”

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life and president of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, blasted Ragsdale as a “false prophet” following the NAF announcement.

“For decades, Katherine Ragsdale, a false prophet, has been trying to put religious vestments on child-killing,” Father Pavone told LifeSiteNews. “She led the ‘Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights’ (now the ‘Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice’), which actually provides rites of blessing for parents about to kill their children, and for the facilities in which the blood is shed.”

Pavone noted that NAF provides “Scripture studies that attempt to say exactly the opposite of what Scripture says about what God thinks of the shedding of innocent blood.”

“It actually reveals one of the greatest weaknesses of the abortion industry: Science is not on their side, logic is not on their side, and history is not on their side,” Pavone said of NAF’s decision on Ragsdale. “They ran out of arguments a long time ago to try to justify abortion. So now, all they have left is to disguise it in ‘spirituality.”

“They try in vain to take the stigma out of abortion — but that effort continues, and that is what this new development represents,” he added.

According to LifeSiteNews, Vicki Saporta, NAF’s last CEO and president, took in a salary of $392,018 in 2017. It’s unclear how much Ragsdale will be compensated.