Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco has finally announced that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should not be admitted to Holy Communion in his archdiocese, nor should she present herself to receive the Eucharist, until she publicly repudiates her support for abortion. 

In a letter to the faithful he said, “after numerous attempts to speak with her 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 that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion unless and until she publicly repudiate her support for abortion “rights” and confess and receive absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance.  I have accordingly sent her a Notification to this effect, which I have now made public.”

This is a significant development and was covered by the mainstream media in the United States, both conservative and left-wing. It may also have an impact on President Biden who, despite his staunch support for ending the lives of unborn children, is also Catholic. 

I say “has finally” announced that Speaker Pelosi should not be admitted to Holy Communion as this development has been a long time coming. The Archbishop is not “getting political” or “weaponizing the Eucharist” (a dreadful term employed by those who know little about Catholicism) or fighting the culture war. The Archbishop is doing his duty in pointing out that Speaker Pelosi is risking her own soul in her fervent support of abortion. 

The Archbishop a full year ago set out in a pastoral letter on the “Human Dignity of the Unborn, Holy Communion, and Catholics in Public Life” why protecting the unborn child is such a fundamental duty to all Catholics. In the document called “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” he states: “the ending of life through abortion deeply wounds the woman and destroys the foundation of a just society; it is a ‘pre-eminent priority’ because it violates the right to life, the foundation of all other rights. As Catholics we must be a voice for the voiceless and the powerless; there is no one more defenceless than a child in the womb.” https://sfarchdiocese.org/inthewomb/

Most Catholics know this instinctively. Sadly, there are also many who choose to deny the unborn child its right to life. So why has Speaker Pelosi been singled out? The reasons are clear. 

First, the Archbishop has reached out to Speaker Pelosi over a period of at least a year, in an attempt to bring her back to the teaching of the church. All his attempts to do so have been ignored. 

Secondly, and importantly, the Speaker is not just risking her own soul in her support for abortion, but she is risking the souls of others in this public support. Speaker Pelosi’s position on abortion is extreme. She makes no attempt to separate out her Catholic faith and her position as a politician in her pro-death position. In fact, she often uses her Catholic faith as, somehow, an important plank in why she supports abortion. 

She has said, “The very idea that they would be telling women the size, timing or whatever of their family, the personal nature of this is so appalling, and I say that as a devout Catholic… They say to me, ‘Nancy Pelosi thinks she knows more about having babies than the Pope.’  Yes, I do.  Are you stupid?”

This in turn means she commits the sin of scandalising the church. It is one thing to say that as a public servant one must remain neutral on these issues and serve the public as a whole. Although I don’t like this argument, it is completely different to saying, as she does, that one is pro-abortion because one is Catholic. That is not something you can publicly say and then offer yourself for Holy Communion.

Further, I also believe there is a difference between saying I remain neutral on the current abortion status quo and advocating for an even more pro-abortion regime. For instance, Jacob Rees-Mogg MP has spoken repeatedly about his pro-life beliefs in public, but he has not made any attempt to overturn the Abortion Act 1967 here, knowing that it would be futile to do so. 

As such, had Speaker Pelosi similarly said Roe v Wade was settled and does not believe it should be overturned, that would be one thing. But to condemn a possible overturning of Roe v Wade and to say that she wishes to introduce an extreme abortion regime to Congress, that again is a grave sin.

Some new-found theologians on the left (there seem to be so many now) have said Jesus never excluded anyone and that this decision by the Archbishop is wrong. However, it is important to note that the Speaker is not being excluded from attending Mass.

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has not said Speaker Pelosi is no longer Catholic. Indeed, it is a sorry state of affairs that along with the Speaker and President Biden there seem to be so many pro-abortion Catholics around these days. Why we have reached this sad state of affairs is a blog for another day. 

Speaker Pelosi is welcome to attend Mass, she is welcome to pray the Rosary. What she is not permitted to do is scandalise the Church, twist its teachings on this most important matter, risk her own soul and the souls of others, and still present herself for Holy Communion. She should remain in our prayers.

The Archbishop has taken a courageous stance in making it clear that Catholics cannot publicly advocate for abortion and present themselves for the Eucharist. In doing this he has stood up for the weakest and most vulnerable amongst us – the innocent unborn child. He should remain in our prayers. 

END 

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