By Robert G. Marshall (bio - articles - email ) | Aug 02, 2022

In what is surely an American First, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, His Excellency, Salvatore Cordileone, informed Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and third in line to be President, that she is not to receive Communion, until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance.

The San Francisco Examiner, a very Leftist newspaper, editorialized, In open defiance of Pope Francis, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on Friday banned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from taking Holy Communion here in her home diocese. The reason? Her strong support of womens abortion rights.

Actually, Pelosi is more than just a strong supporter of abortion. Pelosi described herself at a Catholic Georgetown University meeting, I am a rabid supporter of a womans right to choose. San Francisco Archbishop Cordileone had previously alerted House Speaker Pelosi (4/7/22) that she had crossed a line by announcing that she would support codifying the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision in Federal law, noting, should you not publicly repudiate your advocacy for abortion rights or else refrain from referring to your Catholic Faith in public and receiving Holy Communion, I would have no choice but to make a declaration, in keeping with canon 915, that you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.

The timing was not political. Archbishop Cordileone had been in dialogue with the Speaker on the abortion question for at least ten years. The Archbishop said Ive been debating this within my own conscience for many years. Ive consulted with people...who would have different perspectives on the situation.... Ive done a lot of prayer and fasting.... I really would prefer not to do this. But I cannot in my conscience allow the situation to continue and cause this scandal.

Pelosi Tries to Defend Herself

Speaker Pelosi was a guest (5/24/22) on MSNBCs Morning Joe TV program hosted by former Democrat Congressman Joe Scarborough and his wife, Mika Brzezinski. Joe Scarborough asked Speaker Pelosi, ...what do you say to Catholics who see whats happening to you...why you have an archbishop taking a step like this?

Pelosi claimed that Archbishop Cordileone, in denying her Holy Communion, was not consistent with the Gospel of Matthew, which she identified as the agenda of the Church. However, the Gospel of Matthew undermines Pelosis case as it states (18:1517) If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church.

Pelosi questioned the consistency of Archbishop Cordileone in denying Communion to Catholic public officials for abortion support, but not for death penalty support. I wonder about death penalty, which Im opposed to. So is the Church, but they take no action against people who may not share their view. But in 2004, Cardinal Ratzinger , writing specifically on the question of Catholic politicians who support the death penalty noted:

When Pope Francis modified the Catholic Catechism to say capital punishment should not be used, he did not state that the death penalty was ever lacking in justice or that it was evil in itself, as popes have said about abortion for centuries.

Cardinal Ladaria, who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and therefore speaks for Pope Francis, sent a letter (8/1/18) to the U. S. Catholic Bishops explaining Franciss death penalty change: the death penalty...can be justified if it is the only practicable way to defend the lives of human beings effectively against the aggressor, even if in reality cases of absolute necessity for suppression of the offender today are very rare, if not practically non-existent. (n. 2267).

One commentator noted that while Pope Francis teaches the death penalty is, no longer admissible as a general norm...it is not infallible; and therefore, it does not require the assent of divine faith on the part of the faithful....the new formulation of...the Catechism...desires...respectful dialogue with civil authorities, to encourage the creation of conditions that allow for the elimination of the death penalty where it is still in effect.

Pelosis Catalog of Abortion Support

MSNBC Morning Joe co-host, Mika Brzezinski referred to recent Senate action on the grossly misnamed Womens Health Protection Act (WHPA) (S 4132) which most assume codifies Roe. Neither the Senate (S 4132) nor the House version (HR 3755) of the morally grotesque Womens Health Protection Act merely codify the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Both versions of the bill expand abortion way beyond Roe.

The Catholic Bishops Secretariat for Pro Life Activities compiled a list of present federal court approved state or federal laws legal even under Roe v. Wade . All of these current state and federal provisions would be illegal under Pelosis WHPA pro abortion legislation:

Nancy PelosiAbolishing Catholic-Christian Health Care

The Charlotte Lozier Institute notes that private Christian health care is especially undermined under the Womens Health Care Protection Act from 2019, H. R. 2975. Law Professor and religious freedom expert Mark Rienzi points out that virtually every state in the country has some sort of statute protecting individuals and, in many cases, entities who refuse to provide abortions and [s]ome states expressly limit this protection to the practice of abortion, which is treated specially. Moreover:

H. R. 3755, the current House version of the Womens Health Protection Act, could have been written by Karl Marx or Vladimir Lenin. Pelosis bill states, Abortion-specific restrictions are a tool of gender oppression. The findings section on page 3 of HR 3755, which judges are supposed to reference to determine the meaning of the text of the statute states:

Pelosis affirmation that reproductive rights belong to all individuals to define and make decisions about their bodies, health, sexuality, will make statutory rape and consent laws illegal in all fifty states and US Territories. This is a goal of abortionists and transgender zealots. Pregnancy from artificial reproduction outside the womb or marriage will become a right of individuals, threesomes, etc.

Pelosis radical policy is miles beyond codifying Roe v. Wade and she certainly knows that. Under Pelosis bill, LGBTQ+ persons would have a right to an abortion and to demand under a surrogacy pregnancy contract that a surrogate mother would be required to abort a child for any reason if the owners of the child were not satisfied. Note also that while Abortion services is defined in Section 3 under definitions, Abortion is not defined anywhere in the bill. Section 3 on page 16 states, The term pregnancy refers to the period of the human reproductive process beginning with the implantation of a fertilized egg. The end of pregnancy is not defined.

A legislator who wanted to authorize infanticide but who did not want use the word, could employ that verbal tactic. Further, H. B. 3755 (Section 7, page 24) contains a Rule of Construction which allows no government interference, with a persons ability to terminate a pregnancy, to diminish or in any way negatively affect a persons constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy. Other Findings on page 2 state, Since 1973, the Supreme Court repeatedly has recognized the constitutional right...to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability....

The Churchs Response to Pelosi, and Pelosis Response to the Church

The San Francisco Examiner (5/21/22), eager to defend Pelosis self-affirming and contrived Catholic Faith, used inflammatory words to tag Archbishop Cordileone as an insubordinate saboteur acting in open defiance of Pope Francis for ruling that Speaker Pelosi is ineligible to receive Holy Communion.

But Cardinal Luis Ladaria , Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, suggested to Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez (5/7/21), President of the USCCB, that if the bishops wanted to establish nationwide standards relating to abortion-supporting Catholic politicians, the bishops should undertake a two-stage dialogue, first among the bishops themselves, and then between bishops and Catholic pro-choice politicians within their jurisdictions. Such a national policy on worthiness to receive Communion, should be applied to all the faithful, rather than one category of Catholics.

Pope Francis was cited in the Tablet (5/23/22):

In many respects, the Popes actions regarding Catholic politicians Pelosi and Biden have been disappointing. U. S. Pro Life Bishops Chairman Archbishop Naumann (Kansas City, Kansas) stated that the Pope does not understand the Church in the United States, and he also noted that when the Pope publicly received Pelosi, the meeting was politically exploited. In allowing this, Pope Francis is doing exactly what he warns others not to do. During a recent papal interview with Spanish language Univision the Pope was asked about Nancy Pelosis reportedly receiving Communion in Mass at St. Peters, despite Archbishop Cordileones barring Pelosi from Communion. Pope Francis noted that Pelosi continues to receive the Eucharist in Washington, D. C. as well.

Yet during the interview, the Pope described Bidens abortion position as an incoherence with the Catholic Faith. Archbishop Naumann commented in the National Catholic Register , Its very helpful because I think thats exactly true, that his (Bidens) position is incoherent with Catholic teaching. So Im grateful for that clarification by the Holy Father. We must pray that actions will follow the Holy Fathers words.

In June, 1990 the New York Times reprinted excerpts of comments made by John Cardinal OConnor in his New York Archdiocese newspaper:

Pelosi responded: There is no desire to fight with the cardinals or archbishops.... But it has to be clear that we are elected officials, and we uphold the law and we support public positions separate and apart from our Catholic Faith. Yet, she also claims that her abortion votes are compatible with her Catholic Faith.

Some of Pelosis Faith-based claims about abortion being consistent with her Faith are linked below:

After one of Speaker Pelosis I am a Catholic and support abortion interviews on Meet the Press with Tom Brokaw (8/24/08) Speaker Pelosi was rebuked by Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput: Catholic public leaders inconvenienced by the abortion debate...seem comfortable in the role of theologian.... The Christian tradition from the earliest days reveals a firm anti-abortion attitude The condemnation of abortion did not depend on and was not limited in any way by theories regarding the time of fetal animation.

Pelosi Claims to Not Impose Her Views on Others

Nancy Pelosi claimed on the Morning Joe program (5/24/22) that, I come from a largely pro-life, Italian-American, Catholic family, so I respect peoples views about that. But I dont respect us foisting it onto others.

However, Speaker Pelosi foisted her pro-abortion views on others by strongly supporting and voting for H. R. 5, the so-called Equality Act, promoted by homosexual activists who seek to impose their radical demands on individuals and institutions governed by the morals of Moses and Jesus. Pelosis misnamed Equality Act will compel doctors and health care institutions to perform abortions and sex-change operations, and furnish puberty blockers for minors or lose their medical licenses or accreditation.

Private conscience and religious rights are presently protected under various Federal and State conscience laws which exempt doctors, nurses and health care establishments from having to comply with such immoral practices, but Speaker Pelosi wants to strip away all conscience and privacy protections for girls and women, and destroy female sports. Under Pelosis alleged Equality Act, a person, business, church, private school or religious group that does not comply with or support the LGBTQ+ agenda will be charged with discriminating under the Civil Rights Act, equal to violating the civil rights of African Americans. Fines can be $500,000 per incident depending upon the size of the organization accused of discriminating.

Background Resources

Archbishop Cordileone wrote a succinct, well-reasoned letter to Speaker Pelosi. The Archbishops second letter explains to Catholics in the San Francisco Archdiocese (and beyond) how he reached his decision. His third letter was sent to priests in which he details the Canon law background for his decision, with which priests and deacons must comply. Interestingly, the very liberal Jesuit America magazine had an excellent, thorough interview with Archbishop Cordileone hosted by Gloria Purvis, available as a podcast and a shorter print version.

Bishops honoring Archbishop Cordileones Communion directive regarding denial of Holy Communion for Speaker Pelosi include as of May 24, 2022 (source: National Catholic Register):

Recent Abortion Votes in Congress

To find out which Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate voted for the their respective versions of the Womens Health Protection act, go the following links.

Did your Catholic member of Congress vote in favor of this abortion legislation? St. Paul (1 Timothy 2:14) urges us to pray for those in authority. In addition to praying, we should make immoral positions known to others, and vote in every special, primary and general election only for pro-life candidates. Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe we must work to convince state legislatures to pass legislation to secure legal protection for the lives of all innocent children before birth.

Bob Marshall served 26 years in the Virginia House of Delegates and was the chief House sponsor of the 2006 voter-approved Virginia Marriage Amendment and a ban on late term abortion. He recently wrote Reclaiming the Republic: How Christians and Other Conservatives Can Win Back America (TAN Books). Previously, he co-authored Blessed are the Barren, a social history of Planned Parenthood (Ignatius Press). Finally, dont miss Bobs Civics Lesson for Catholics in the Catholic Culture Podcast Episode 17. See the full bio.

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The grim realities behind barring Nancy Pelosi from Communion - Catholic Culture