“Does pancreatitis affect bowel movements?”

Indirectly, it's possible. For example, a bad case of pancreatitis can result in an ileus, which means the bowel motility has shut down. In another example, chronic pancreatitis can result in fatty diarrhea because the pancreas n longer makes sufficient enzymes to break down fats. But be careful: when you say "pancreas issues", make sure you know whether there is really pancreatitis or not. Pancreatitis is often misdiagnosed.

The doctor who diagnosed his condition should discuss this with you.

Yes. Due to inflammatory reaction adjacent to stomach,the small and large intestine, it can paralyze the movement of intestinal contents through the bowel making the patients nauseated and occasional vomiting , as well as constipation with abdominal bloatness during initial stage of acute pancreatitis.
These symptoms start to improve as the disease starts to settles down with the patients starting tolerating firt liquid and then solid food.
Early feeding is encouraged in acute pancreatitis to reduce the chance of infections and also to shorten the hospital stay.