Pelosi Slapdown
By BARBARA SIMPSON
Congresswoman and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is used to having the last word. Also the first word, as well, on any subject she prefers.
Her obstinacy about any of her political positions has finally gotten the public attention of San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. She openly defies Catholic teaching on abortion and as a result, the archbishop has banned her from receiving Communion in any church in the San Francisco Archdiocese until she repents, and goes to Confession.
He wrote her a letter outlining his position on the issue and made the letter public last week. He said he had made numerous attempts to talk with her privately about the situation, but she never responded to his contacts. As a result — the public letter stating his order that she is not to present herself for Communion.
He said that to “help her understand the grave evil she is perpetrating, the scandal she is causing, and the danger to her own soul she is risking, I have determined that the point has come in which I must make a public declaration.”
He said he notified her and then made the letter public.
Nancy Pelosi has long represented San Francisco in Congress and the liberal contingent of that population re-elects her with confidence she will uphold their political beliefs. Which she does. One of those beliefs is support for abortion and Pelosi remains in that camp — a supporter of abortion with no limitations, as the right of a woman to do what she will with her body.
One aspect of her public persona is her continual reminding the public that she is a “good, practicing, devout Catholic” and that “her marriage has been blessed with five children.” The inference, of course, is that she claims to follow Church teaching which enables her to receive Holy Communion during Mass.
For Catholics, Holy Communion is receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine at Mass. The person receiving it, must not be in a state of sin. If that person supports things that are against Church teaching and have not gone to Confession, they are forbidden to receive Communion.
The archbishop’s letter pointedly said, “A Catholic legislator who supports procured abortion after knowing the teaching of the Church, commits a manifestly grave sin which is a cause of most serious scandal to others. Therefore, universal Church law provides that such persons ‘are not to be admitted to Holy Communion’.”
That apparently does not bother Nancy Pelosi since she presents herself for Communion during Mass despite the fact that her political position is total and complete support of abortion for all women. For Catholics that is a grave sin and receiving Communion in a state of sin is a worse sin.
The political problem is that the issue of “abortion” is back in the headlines again as there is anticipation that the U.S. Supreme Court will reverse Roe. Pelosi is strongly against that and has spoken out forcefully about it. She wants Roe to remain in effect.
When the archbishop’s letter became public in the Bay area last week, local news — broadcast and print — fell into a frantic tizzy. Needless to say, most media in the Bay Area are liberal and so they sided with Pelosi and accused the archbishop of political interference.
An editorial in the San Francisco Examiner newspaper said that the “Attack on Nancy Pelosi should be San Francisco Archbishop’s final act here.”
Whoa! That sounds like a threat to me. Do they think they have control over the archbishop’s position?
The paper said Cordileone is “grandstanding on the issue and picking a fight with the most powerful woman — and second-most powerful Catholic — in American politics.”
As a sidenote, perhaps the first, most powerful Catholic in American politics then would be President Joe Biden, who also supports abortion and also receives Communion. He claims that Pope Francis told him in 2021 to continue receiving Communion.
Hmmmm. How convenient.
And speaking of Pope Francis, he has said that “whoever has an abortion — kills. It is a human life.”
There’s no explanation of how he justifies that contradictory position. But there I go again, expecting “logic.”
Then again, Pelosi, in an effort to justify her abortion advocacy, in the past has claimed that the Church has “not been able to make a definition of when life begins.”
Methinks Nancy is being creative! No wonder people are confused. Talk about mixing religion and politics — it never ends.
The newspaper went on to criticize Archbishop Cordileone, saying he aims to sow division and politicize the faith.
But on the issue of abortion, it should be noted that the position of the Church, since the first century, has been that abortion is a moral evil. That hasn’t changed, despite what Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden and others say or want.
While the statement of Archbishop Cordileone applies only to his diocese, other bishops across California and the country are free to support his position and at least 14 of them from across the country already have stated their support. That includes Bishop Michael Barber from Oakland, Calif., across San Francisco Bay.
That means that if she attends Mass in any of their churches, they can and should refuse to allow her to receive Communion. Since there are some 260 bishops in the United States, it will be interesting to see how many others eventually join in the support of San Francisco and Archbishop Cordileone.
As for Washington, I wonder if (or how) any Catholic politicians in the U.S. government will react to this situation, including the president.
Somehow, I doubt it, but you never know.
It also remains to be seen whether Archbishop Cordileone will face any backlash from other Church leaders, possibly including the Vatican. It’s clear they are not on the same page.
If you believe in prayer, pray for him. He will need as much support as he can get.