San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone encouraged pro-life Americans to join him in praying for the conversion of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s heart so that she will recognize the value of unborn babies.
In a statement Wednesday, Cordileone lamented how Pelosi, who professes to be Catholic, recently led the U.S. House in passing a radical pro-abortion bill that would legalize abortions for basically any reason up to birth nation-wide and force taxpayers to pay for them.
“A conversion of heart of the majority of our Congressional representatives is needed on this issue, beginning with the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi,” the archbishop said. “I am therefore inviting all Catholics to join in a massive and visible campaign of prayer and fasting for Speaker Pelosi: commit to praying one rosary a week and fasting on Fridays for her conversion of heart.”
The Benedict XVI Institute is leading the “Rose and Rosary for Nancy” campaign. More details may be found at BenedictInstitute.org.
Cordileone and Pelosi, who lives in San Francisco, repeatedly have sparred about abortion, especially in recent weeks as the House advanced the pro-abortion “Women’s Health Protection Act.”
Last week, the archbishop said the legislation amounts to “child sacrifice” and chastised Catholic politicians who support it. He said the bill is what “one would expect from a devout Satanist, not a devout Catholic.”
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Asked about his comments, Pelosi laughed, responding, “The archbishop of the city, that area, of San Francisco and I have a disagreement about who should decide this.”
“I believe that God has given us a free will to honor our responsibilities,” Pelosi continued, noting that she is a mother but she believes others should be allowed to “choose” abortion.
In his call to prayer Wednesday, Cordileone said Pelosi “clearly has a maternal heart” for her children. He said the problem is that she does not extend that care to all children, including the unborn.
“Pope Francis has called abortion murder, the equivalent of hiring a hitman to solve a problem,” Cordileone continued. “The solution to a woman in a crisis pregnancy is not violence but love. Please join me in praying the rosary and fasting for a conversion of Speaker Pelosi’s maternal heart to embracing the goodness and dignity of human life not only after birth, but in the womb as well.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also has been calling for prayer and fasting for the defeat of the deceptively-named Women’s Health Protection Act, which now is in the U.S. Senate.
The legislation would override all “meaningful” limits on late-term abortions and allow viable unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth, the bishops said. It would force taxpayers to pay for abortions, too.
Polls consistently show strong public opposition to the measures in the bill, including taxpayer-funded abortions. A new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that 65 percent of Americans think most or all abortions should be illegal in the second-trimester and 80 percent think most or all should be illegal in the third trimester.
