Pelosi Barred by Catholic Church From Receiving Communion Over Abortion Advocacy

[Eupher]

Chickens coming home to roost for good ol' Pelousy.

I'm not Catholic, but I know this is a big deal for PRACTICING Catholics. I'd be interested to know when Pelousy last stepped into a Catholic church. Probably been a while. 

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has been barred by the Catholic Church from receiving Holy Communion over her support of abortion, which the Catholic Church strongly opposes.

The decision was announced by San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, who serves as archbishop for Pelosi’s home city.

“After numerous attempts to speak with Speaker Pelosi 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 she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion,” Cordileone summarized in a Twitter post attached to a letter announcing the decision.

“There can be no more extreme example of … cultural depravity than when direct attacks on human life are enshrined in a nation’s law, celebrated by society, and even paid for by the government,” Cordileone wrote in the opening to the letter, published to the diocese website. “This is why Pope Francis, as much as any pope in living memory, has repeatedly and vividly affirmed the Church’s clear and constant teaching that abortion is a grave moral evil.”

“As the Archbishop of San Francisco, I am bound to be ‘concerned for all the Christian faithful entrusted to [my] care,'” Cordileone continued.

“This most serious duty can sometimes become unpleasant, especially when Catholics in public life explicitly promote practices that involve the direct taking of innocent human life, which is what abortion does,” he wrote. “I have struggled with this issue in my own conscience for many years now, especially with regard to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and member of our Archdiocese, Nancy Pelosi.”

“I have received letters from very many of you over the years expressing distress over the scandal being caused by such Catholics in public life who promote such grievously evil practices as abortion,” he continued. “I have responded that conversion is always better than exclusion, and before any such action can be taken it must be preceded by sincere and diligent efforts at dialogue and persuasion.

“Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi’s position on abortion has become only more extreme over the years, especially in the last few months.

“Just earlier this month she once again, as she has many times before, explicitly cited her Catholic faith while justifying abortion as a ‘choice,’ this time setting herself in direct opposition to Pope Francis: ‘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?’

“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.”

Cordileone added that he “take no pleasure” in the decision, saying that Pelosi’s “advocacy for the care of the poor and vulnerable elicits my admiration … my action here is purely pastoral, not political.”

In concluding the letter, Cordileone wrote: “May God grant us the grace to be true advocates for the dignity of human life, in every stage and condition of life, and to accompany, support and love women who otherwise would be alone and afraid at a most vulnerable time in their lives.”

Cordileone’s action comes as the Supreme Court appears poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the seminal 1973 decision that forced states to allow abortion through the first trimester.

In the wake of a Politico article leaking the decision, Democrat leadership, including Pelosi, began a push to enshrine the right to an abortion in U.S. law.

The bill they proposed to achieve this, dubbed the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” was too radical even for some Democrats, and failed in the Senate over the objections of every Republican member in addition to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

The issue of pro-abortion Catholics in public life has long been a headache for Catholic clergy, who have had to balance the demands of remaining politically independent while also upholding the rules of the Catholic Church, which is outspokenly opposed to abortion.

In 2019, a similar issue made headlines after then-candidate Joe Biden was denied Holy Communion at a Florence, South Carolina, Catholic Church over his support for abortion.

Pelosi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Epoch Times

[ABC-2]

Chickens coming home to roost for good ol' Pelousy.

I'm not Catholic, but I know this is a big deal for PRACTICING Catholics. I'd be interested to know when Pelousy last stepped into a Catholic church. Probably been a while. 

Love it!  Love it, Mr. E, my friend.     Just heard it myself on FNC.

I am not a Catholic either. Am a Brit-born Anglican, but ...

This looks so good on her, feel like breaking out some champagne, 'cept we don't have any on hand at the moment!

  ~ ABC

[Old n Grumpy]

Does anyone really think the old bitch really gives a shit?

All that matters to her is power and $$$.

[Eupher]

Does anyone really think the old bitch really gives a shit?

All that matters to her is power and $$$.

And identity politics.

The question I have is what's the priest gonna do when (and if) she shows up to Mass and lines up for communion? Is he going to pass her by? Kick her out of the church? Embarrass her?

It would be interesting to find out what she'll do about this.

[SVPete]

Well this is "binding" in the SF archdiocese and Napa area archdiocese. In other sees, . Going a little deeper, the US Catholic church has more than a few priests who, ummmm, have trouble with authority. So if she avoids those sees' cathedrals, she could probably find some priests willing to disobey their archbishops.

I'm not and never have been a Catholic, though I am a Christian believer. From an outsider's perspective, the inconsistency between official church teaching against and the church's toleration of abortion-advocating pols like Teddy, Pelosi, and Biden is pretty glaring. It must be really painful for faithful Catholics to see and have pretty much no way to influence toward change.

[ADsOutburst]

Does anyone really think the old bitch really gives a shit?

All that matters to her is power and $$$.

These are pretty much my thoughts.

[SVPete]

Notification to the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress Nancy Pelosi

https://sfarchdiocese.org/notification-to-the-speaker-of-the-house-of-representatives-of-the-united-states-congress-nancy-pelosi/

The Second Vatican Council, in its Decree on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et spes, reiterated the Church’s ancient and consistent teaching that “from the first moment of conception life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes” (n. 51).  Christians have, indeed, always upheld the dignity of human life in every stage, especially the most vulnerable, beginning with life in the womb.  His Holiness, Pope Francis, in keeping with his predecessors, has likewise been quite clear and emphatic in teaching on the dignity of human life in the womb.

This fundamental moral truth has consequences for Catholics in how they live their lives, especially those entrusted with promoting and protecting the public good of society.  Pope St. John Paul II was also quite consistent in upholding this constant teaching of the Church, and frequently reminded us that “those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a ‘grave and clear obligation to oppose’ any law that attacks human life.  For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them” (cf. Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life [November 24, 2002], n. 4, §1).  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” (Code of Canon Law, can. 915).
...
In striving to follow this direction, I am grateful to you for the time you have given me in the past to speak about these matters.  Unfortunately, I have not received such an accommodation to my many requests to speak with you again since you vowed to codify the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in federal law following upon passage of Texas Senate Bill 8 last September.  That is why I communicated my concerns to you via letter on April 7, 2022, and informed you there that, should you not publically 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.

As you have not publically repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and to receive Holy Communion, that time has now come.  Therefore, in light of my responsibility as the Archbishop of San Francisco to be “concerned for all the Christian faithful entrusted to [my] care” (Code of Canon Law, can. 383, §1), by means of this communication I am hereby notifying you that you are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publically repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance.

Please know that I stand ready to continue our conversation at any time, and will continue to offer up prayer and fasting for you.

[ABC-2]

And identity politics.

The question I have is what's the priest gonna do when (and if) she shows up to Mass and lines up for communion? Is he going to pass her by? Kick her out of the church? Embarrass her?

It would be interesting to find out what she'll do about this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krD4hdGvGHM     Indeed!

Still have no champagne at hand, but will get some ready for such an event!   

[Eupher]

I love this one:

Last Saturday afternoon, in Washington , D.C. , an aide to Nancy Pelosi visited the Bishop of the Catholic cathedral in D.C.. He told the Cardinal that Nancy Pelosi would be attending the next day's Mass, and he asked if the Cardinal would kindly point out Pelosi to the congregation and say a few words that would include  calling Pelosi a saint.

The Cardinal replied, "No. I don't really like the woman, and there are issues of conflict with the Catholic Church over certain of Pelosi's views."

Pelosi's aide then said, "Look, I'll write a check here and now for a donation of $100,000 to your church if you'll just tell the  congregation you see Pelosi as a saint.

The Cardinal thought about it and said, "Well, the church can use the money, so I'll work your request into tomorrow's sermon."

As Pelosi's aide promised, Nancy Pelosi appeared for the Sunday worship and seated herself prominently at the forward left side of the center aisle. As promised, at the start of his sermon, the Cardinal pointed out that Ms.Pelosi was present.

The Cardinal went on to explain to the congregation, "While Ms. Pelosi's presence is probably an honor to some, the woman is not numbered among my personal favorite personages. Some of her most egregious views are contrary to tenets of the Church, and she tends to flip- flop on many other issues. Nancy Pelosi is a petty, self -absorbed hypocrite, a thumb sucker, and a nit-wit. Nancy Pelosi is also a serial liar, a cheat, and a thief. I must say, Nancy Pelosi is the worst example of a Catholic I have ever personally witnessed. She married for money and is using her wealth to lie to the American people. She also has a reputation for shirking her Representative obligations both in Washington, and in California. The woman is simply not to be trusted."

The Cardinal  concluded,  "But, when compared with President Obama, Ms. Pelosi is a saint."

https://conservativepoliticalforum.com/jokes/nancy-pelosi-goes-to-church/

[enslaved1]

Well this is "binding" in the SF archdiocese and Napa area archdiocese. In other sees, . Going a little deeper, the US Catholic church has more than a few priests who, ummmm, have trouble with authority. So if she avoids those sees' cathedrals, she could probably find some priests willing to disobey their archbishops.

I'm not and never have been a Catholic, though I am a Christian believer. From an outsider's perspective, the inconsistency between official church teaching against and the church's toleration of abortion-advocating pols like Teddy, Pelosi, and Biden is pretty glaring. It must be really painful for faithful Catholics to see and have pretty much no way to influence toward change.

The bishops doing the right thing and denying communion are the ones who have trouble with authority. 

https://religionnews.com/2021/05/26/four-reasons-behind-the-vaticans-action-on-communion-for-pro-choice-politicians/

It is well known that the Catholic Church opposes abortion. Pope Francis, for all his talk about compassion and forgiveness for women who have sought out the procedure, is not about to change the church’s teaching on abortion.

But as soon as the U.S. bishops moved to draft a document clarifying their stance on Communion, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, wrote to the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops telling him “the effective development of a policy in this area requires that dialogue occurs in two stages: first among the bishops themselves, and then between bishops and Catholic pro-choice politicians within their jurisdictions.”

In addition, he reminded Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, the USCCB president, that the conference cannot usurp the authority of the local bishop to determine who can and cannot receive Communion in his diocese.   

This was widely interpreted as the Vatican putting brakes on conservative Catholic bishops’ efforts to deny Communion to pro-choice politicians like President Joe Biden.

Pope says give the proggies their bread and wine, and their recognition and "look at me" moments.   

BTW, not catholic either, but they do get some things right, and I'll happily applaud those correct decisions and actions. 

[Eupher]

Just my opinion - one of the reasons that Pope John Paul II was canonized was his ability to stay true to Catholic doctrine while also mixing just enough politics to let Catholics know he was paying attention. And John Paul knew what he was talking about since he came of age in communist Poland.

Pope Francis, on the other hand, hasn't learned to keep political discourse at arm's length. He's a moonbat leftist fascist at heart, and he has yet to "connect" with the bulk of today's Catholics because of his idiotic stances on cultural issues, apart that of abortion, of course. Even Francis knows he can't buck that one.

[SVPete]

Central and South America were (are?) hotbeds of "Liberation Theology", Marxism with a thin veneer of Catholicism (gotta deceive the masses). Francis may not have been full-on "Liberation Theology", but it is very possible that his view of it was that it went too far, but had many valid points. Just guessing, of course.

[Eupher]

Central and South America were (are?) hotbeds of "Liberation Theology", Marxism with a thin veneer of Catholicism (gotta deceive the masses). Francis may not have been full-on "Liberation Theology", but it is very possible that his view of it was that it went too far, but had many valid points. Just guessing, of course.

John Paul II was a hard act to follow, and that was shown to be true when Benedict XVI was voted in. He didn't stay long (2005-2013). Probably because of the priest's problems with keeping their hands off the altar boys. But Francis, moreso than most popes I've been aware of, has had little to no problems with mixing his version of politics with religion. Francis is probably smart enough not to get too entrenched in the SA brand of marxism, but I've always been skeptical about his own personal dogma versus what he's supposed to be advocating. YMMV.

[Eupher]

Pelousy, the miserable, arrogant scrunt, decided to hunker down in D.C. this weekend and take communion at a D.C. Catholic church. This, of course, thumbs her nose at the SF archbishop who barred her from receiving communion within his see.

As we previously reported, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone banned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) from receiving Communion because of her continued extreme advocacy of abortion. Cordileone tried to talk to her. She not only blew him off but she acted as though she was in the right in so doing. It’s always been a tenet of the Church not to promote abortion and it is considered a grave sin to facilitate it as Pelosi is doing. You’re not supposed to receive Communion when your soul is in a state of grave sin which is why Cordileone is denying her until she straightens herself out.

The reaction of the left was something else. Some claimed that it was the Archbishop who was politicizing things. CNN’s Jim Sciutto even claimed that he’d never heard of anyone being banned. Indeed, the St. Louis Archbishop said he would deny climate czar John Kerry while he was campaigning in 2004 and Rudy Giuliani was told he should not be receiving Communion while he was pro-choice. Guiliani accepted that decision and their right to deny him. Sciutto is a lousy journalist so he didn’t pick up on those high-profile instances. We saw The View’s Whoopi Goldberg claim that it wasn’t the Archbishop’s “job” to deny Pelosi when, indeed, it’s exactly his job as a pastor and a spiritual leader to do what he thinks is best for Pelosi’s soul and not have her continue to compound on sin.

But Pelosi, who thinks she’s right, is now thumbing her nose at Cordileone’s principled stand.

The California Democrat attended mass on Sunday at Holy Trinity in Georgetown where she received Holy Communion, Politico Playbook reported. Pool reports show that President Joe Biden often attends evening masses at the parish as well.

It is not immediately clear which priest at Holy Trinity gave Pelosi communion.

None of the Jesuit priests on staff at Holy Trinity, described as “a parish of the powerful,” responded to requests for comment from The Daily Wire.

The parish website advertises a June 15 “Pride Mass,” and highlights a video of a gay man, who says he is married to a man, though the Catholic Church teaches that marriage should only be between a man and a woman and that “under no circumstances” will the church approve homosexual acts.

The Church’s pastor, Rev. Kevin Gillespie, S.J., has previously said he wouldn’t deny Joe Biden Communion, as has the Washington Archbishop, Wilton Gregory. The parish failed to respond to requests for comment from the Daily Wire and it sounds like the Washington, D.C. Archdiocese is trying to duck the questions as to what is going on here.

Unfortunately, the battle we see in the wider community is also being fought in the Church, where you see people who care more about the teachings of the Church, and those who seem to care more about progressive politics. Some on the left have suggested that Pope Francis would be against this banning, but it’s up to the bishops to decide, as Cordileone did.

The Archbishop said he was just following the letter of Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict) when he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“He gave us advice on how to approach this, specifically with politicians, Catholic politicians, and specifically on the two issues of abortion and euthanasia,” Cordileone said. “He said we need to meet, to dialogue, to try to move them down the path of conversion. And if after several attempts it comes to the point where it’s clear [that] this is not going to happen, then the bishop or the pastor, [Ratzinger] says, is to declare that the person is not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

The archbishop defended his decision to make the decision public, saying, “If she’s not to be admitted to Holy Communion, our priests and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, all those who are Communion ministers need to know that.”

He also described Pelosi’s outspoken support for abortion as a “scandal.”

“Scandal is an action that would lead others into error or into sin,” Cordileone said. “So the scandal here is that someone who is strongly advocating for something as evil as abortion and taking Communion creates confusion among people. And they can begin to think that it is acceptable for a Catholic to believe this.”

The archbishop said he cannot judge Pelosi’s conscience.

“I think her faith really is important to her. It really is important to her to be Catholic, and she feels devotion in her heart,” he admitted. “Which makes me perplexed at why she would be so forceful on this issue as a politician.”

“It’s very tricky as a politician; there are so many issues to balance out and trying to come to some kind of consensus and compromise and all that,” Cordileone noted. “But to be so aggressively promoting it—that’s not what a devout Catholic does.”

While Pope Francis didn’t comment specifically on Pelosi, he did make the following comment, condemning calling abortion a “choice,” and saying abortion is taking a life.

So it looks like Pelosi is “church shopping” — to be able to find progressives who are willing to go around Cordileone. I’m not sure how this ends because it seems like if you’re trying to protect the principles of the Church, you would want to stop that. But we’ll have to see if Pope Francis goes any further than that sort of couched response.

Lots of Twitter crap at the link for those who like to review that stuff.

Red State

[SVPete]

Sadly, that was pretty predictable. The Catholic Church in the US, sadly, has not taken seriously the flagrant, very public, sins of its rich & powerful members for decades, dating back at least to Joseph Kennedy Sr., through the promiscuous and corrupt sons he trained to treat women as pleasure objects, and into current times where rich and powerful members advocate and support abortion, from conception up to the point of live birth.

Rev. Kevin Gillespie, S.J. and Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory love those pols' blood-soaked money more than the plain teaching of Scripture and the Catholic Church, sadly.

[Eupher]

Sadly, that was pretty predictable. The Catholic Church in the US, sadly, has not taken seriously the flagrant, very public, sins of its rich & powerful members for decades, dating back at least to Joseph Kennedy Sr., through the promiscuous and corrupt sons he trained to treat women as pleasure objects, and into current times where rich and powerful members advocate and support abortion, from conception up to the point of live birth.

Rev. Kevin Gillespie, S.J. and Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory love those pols' blood-soaked money more than the plain teaching of Scripture and the Catholic Church, sadly.

steel on target. D.C., after all, has the power and with that power comes money.

Indulgences, anyone? Martin Luther - who always considered himself to be Catholic despite his complaints against the church - is spinning in his grave.