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U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at the U.S. Capitol on May 19, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (l), and Archbishop of San Francisco Salvatore Joseph Cordileone at St. Peter’s Basilica on June 29, 2013, in Vatican City, Vatican (r). / Kevin Dietsch, Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 20, 2022 / 13:03 pm (CNA).

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

Cordileone said on May 20 that the step was “purely pastoral, not political” and came after Pelosi, D-Calif., who has described herself as a “devout Catholic,” repeatedly rebuffed his efforts to reach out to her to discuss her abortion advocacy. 

Cordileone said that he sent the notification to Pelosi, “a member of our archdiocese,” on May 19. The Democratic leader did not immediately respond publicly to Cordileone’s announcement after it was released to the media Friday afternoon. In a 2008 interview with C-SPAN, Pelosi said being denied Communion would be “a severe blow,” describing herself at the time as a “regular communicant.”

Cordileone’s instructions apply only within the San Francisco Archdiocese. Other bishops have jurisdiction over such matters when Pelosi is Washington, D.C., and other dioceses around the U.S. and abroad.

In a May 20 letter addressed to lay Catholics, Cordileone explained that he issued the instruction in accordance with canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law, which states that “Those … obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” 

“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,” Cordileone wrote in the letter.

Separate letter sent to priests

In a separate letter to priests of the San Francisco Archdiocese also released Friday, Cordileone responded preemptively to criticism that he was “weaponizing the Eucharist.”

He insisted that his decision was “simply application of Church teaching.”

“I have been very clear all along, in both my words and my actions, that my motive is pastoral, not political,” he said in the letter.

In the same letter, the archbishop described his repeated attempts to meet with Pelosi — who represents San Francisco, California’s 12th District, in Congress — since she announced in September 2021 that she would seek to codify Roe. v. Wade into U.S. law. 

He said that he wrote to the Speaker in April this year, “detailing the extreme position to which she has moved on the abortion question and explaining the scandal that it is causing and the danger to her own soul.”  

“I asked her to repudiate this position, or else refrain from referring to her Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion,” he wrote.

“I also advised her that if she refused to do this, I would be forced to make a public announcement that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” 

He said that he received no response, but contacted Pelosi again a month later when she described herself as a “devout Catholic” while explaining why she supported abortion, in the wake of the leak of a draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court could strike down Roe v. Wade.

“In consequence of all this and all that has led up to it,” Cordileone told priests, “it is my determined judgment that this resistance to pastoral counsel has gone on for too long, and there is nothing more that can be done at this point to help the Speaker understand the seriousness of the evil her advocacy for abortion is perpetrating and the scandal she is causing.

“I therefore issued her the aforementioned Notification that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion,” he wrote.

A long-running impasse

Cordileone and Pelosi have clashed repeatedly over abortion since Benedict XVI appointed Cordileone to lead the San Francisco Archdiocese in 2012.

Tensions rose notably in 2021 as the push to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision reached the Supreme Court and the U.S. bishops engaged in a heated discussion over whether pro-abortion politicians should be denied Communion.

In May 2021, Pelosi said that she was “pleased” with a Vatican letter to the U.S. bishops addressing the debate. She claimed that the Vatican had instructed the bishops not to be “divisive” on the issue.

In response, Cordileone said the Vatican was in fact promoting “dialogue” between bishops and pro-abortion politicians, “to help them understand the grave evil they are helping to perpetrate and accompany them to a change of heart.”

In July 2021, Cordileone sharply criticized Pelosi after she cited her Catholic faith while defending efforts to permit federal funding of elective abortions.

The archbishop launched a prayer campaign in September 2021 aimed at inspiring “a conversion of heart” among politicians supporting abortion, “beginning with the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi.”

Cordileone urged Catholics to sign up for the “Rose and Rosary for Nancy” campaign, which delivered thousands of roses to the speaker as a symbol of prayer and fasting for the 82-year-old mother of five.

In October 2021, Pelosi met with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Commenting on the audience, Cordileone said that “popes meet with everyone” and that the encounter didn’t signal a papal endorsement of the Speaker’s views on abortion.

Warning about reprisals

In his letter to priests, Cordileone acknowledged that his decision could lead to an increase in attacks on Catholic churches.

“Our churches are already being targeted for violence, and our worship services are being disrupted, which motivated me to send you the memo last week asking you to be more attentive to security measures on your property. These attacks may now likely increase. I realize this,” he said. 

“But for us, as faithful disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, this is a cause for rejoicing, for the only reason this is happening is due to the Catholic Church’s consistent defense of the sanctity of human life in all stages and conditions, and especially at its beginning in the womb of the mother.”  

Cordileone continued, “I am convinced that this is a time that God is calling us to live the last beatitude: ‘Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven’ (Matthew 5:11-12).”

This is a developing story.

[…]

Washington D.C., Feb 4, 2019 / 05:26 pm (CNA).- Senate Democrats rejected on Monday an effort to ensure that babies who survive abortion attempts receive medical care.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) introduced the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, and looked to pass the bill Feb. 4 via unanimous consent. That process means one senator can stop the vote by raising an objection.

“You’re either for babies or you’re defending infanticide,” Sasse said Monday before the vote.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash) objected to the bill, bringing the effort to a conclusion.

Sasse announced last Thursday that he would seek to pass the bill through a roll call vote. Sasse said that he expected the bill to pass unanimously.

“I’m going to be asking unanimous consent–for senators to come to the floor,” he said on Thursday.

“I’m going to ask all 100 senators to come to the floor and be against infanticide. This shouldn’t be complicated.”

Sasse’s move to fast-track the bill was sparked by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D)’s comments regarding a proposed bill that would have eased restrictions on third-trimester abortions in the state. Northam, speaking in a radio interview on WTOP, described how a baby surviving a botched abortion would be given “comfort care” while a woman and her doctor discussed whether or not to provide additional medical intervention.

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would penalize doctors who do not attempt to provide medical care to an infant born alive after an abortion with up to five years in prison. The bill also requires that an infant born in an abortion clinic be transferred to a hospital. A woman attempting to procure an abortion would also be granted civil cause of action against the medical professional performing the abortion, and would not be subject to criminal penalties.

On Friday, Sasse told CNA that he did not think there was “any legitimate argument” that could be made against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. And while he said that he hoped the bill would be passed unanimously, he said that if anyone were to come forward against the bill, that they do so on the Senate floor prior to the vote.

“(Senators) need to show what side they’re on,” Sasse told CNA last week. “It’s a pretty simple question: are you on the side of these vulnerable little babies, or are you on the side of Gov. Northam and his defense of infanticide?”

Despite Sasse’s insistence that this legislation is commonsense, and the fact that the bill does not limit abortion rights or create any new regulation for abortion providers that would impede their ability to perform abortions, opposition was expected.

A similar bill was passed through the House of Representatives along nearly total party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor of passing the legislation joined by only six Democrats. One of the Democrats, Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN), later said that he had misunderstood the bill and would not have voted for it.

Sasse’s bill is co-sponsored by more than two dozen Senate Republicans. The House version of the bill was co-sponsored by 146 members. One Democrat, Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), joined 145 Republicans as co-sponsors.

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is Sasse’s second recent use of unanimous consent in the senate. In January he submitted a resolution underscoring the constitutional prohibition of “religious tests” being imposed on candidates for public office, specifically clarifying that membership of the Knights of Columbus is not a disqualification from holding public office.

That resolution was sparked after Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) questioned a judicial nominee about belonging to the Knights of Columbus and suggested that the group held “extreme” positions on social issues.

Although that resolution passed with unanimous consent, Hirono later took to the Senate floor and stated that she felt Sasse was embracing the “alt-right’s position” by supporting the Knights of Columbus.

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, head of the U.S. bishop’s religious liberty committee, sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday asking them to end the practice of asking “discriminatory questions” and to “refrain from further imposing religious tests on judicial nominees.”

Kurtz singled out the Knights of Columbus questioning as a “religious test” that was being unfairly imposed on Catholic nominees.

“Not only are religious tests unconstitutional and unjust, they are an attack on all people of faith and those with no faith at all,” said Kurtz. “Religious tests tell not only Catholics, but all Americans, that they cannot both serve their country and live out their convictions.”

[…]

Washington D.C., Oct 23, 2019 / 02:39 pm (CNA).- Helping Americans understand the importance of religious freedom, as well as a measured view of contemporary threats to it, is the goal of a new book from a leading attorney in the field.

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