The nation’s Catholic bishops are already speaking out in favor of Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s decision to deny Nancy Pelosi communion over her repeated abortion promotion.
As LifeNews reported, Cordileone said he formally notified U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week that she can no longer be allowed communion because she is no longer in communion with the Catholic Church by virtue of her repeatedly promoting abortion. Cordileone, who serves Pelosi’s home district of San Francisco, said he informed the congresswoman of his decision Thursday after repeated attempts to speak with her about the “grave evil” that she is supporting.
After that decision, Pelosi’s bishop in the diocese where she has her vacation home says he has instructed parish priests to implement the decision and refuse her communion if and when she visits their church.
Now, other bishops are speaking out, saying the decision is correct because it was Pelosi’s decision to extricate herself from communion with the Catholic Church by virtue of her aggressive pro-abortion agenda.
Bishop Donald Hying of Wisconsin (pictured) backs the decision to deny Nancy Pelosi communion, saying “Pelosi has persistently taken public positions in support of legal abortion, contrary to her professed Catholic faith, choosing to separate herself from full communion with the Catholic Church.”
The full statement follows:
“I fully support Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s prudent decision to recognize that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, has persistently taken public positions in support of legal abortion, contrary to her professed Catholic faith, choosing to separate herself from full communion with the Catholic Church, and therefore is not to present herself for the reception of Holy Communion in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.”
LifeNews depends on the support of readers like you to combat the pro-abortion media. Please donate now.
Archbishop Cordileone’s public statement made it clear that this serious measure is ‘purely pastoral, not political’ in a further attempt ‘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…’ This is not a decision that was made rashly, but rather one made after almost ten years of patient dialogue and repeated attempts at reconciliation with the congresswoman and the consistently held teachings of the Catholic Church. Please join me in prayer for Speaker Pelosi, that she may embrace the sacred truth and dignity of the human person, formed in the womb, in the image of God.”
Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver agrees and he released his own statement supporting the decision:
“I support and commend my brother bishop for making this courageous, compassionate, and necessary decision,” Aquila said. “I know Archbishop Cordileone to be a shepherd with the heart and mind of Christ, who truly desires to lead others towards Christ’s love, mercy, and promise of eternal salvation.”
As Catholic News Agency reports:
Aquila says that Cordileone’s notification to Pelosi and his separate letter to the priests of the archdiocese “clearly articulates the Church’s teaching on abortion, details the extensive efforts he made to have dialogue with Speaker Pelosi, and explains the canonical and pastoral reasons for this decision.”
Aquila encouraged the faithful of his archdiocese to read the separate letters that Cordileone issued.
Aquila quoted Cordileone saying, “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.”
Cordileone “has made every attempt to try and avoid this step,” the Denver archbishop added.
“As I have previously written and Archbishop Cordileone makes clear as well, this issue is not about politics or simply enforcing Church rules, but rather about love — love for the individual and love for the entire community,” Aquila wrote.
Aquila continued: “Church teaching is clear that people endanger their souls if they are separated from God because of grave sin and then receive the most Holy Eucharist in an unworthy manner. If the Church truly loves them, as she does, then it is more than appropriate to call them back to an intimate relationship with each person of the Trinity through repentance before receiving the body and blood of Jesus in a way that risks their eternal salvation. Jesus as he begins his ministry, calls people to ‘repent and believe’ (Mk 1: 15).”
And Bishop Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois also support the move.
“I fully support and earnestly commend Archbishop Cordileone’s action in regard to Speaker Pelosi. All politicians who promote abortion should not receive holy Communion until they have repented, repaired scandal, and been reconciled to Christ and the Church,” he tweeted.
When in Washington D.C., Pelosi regularly attends Holy Trinity Parish in Georgetown and she and other pro-abortion Catholic politicians frequently receive communion there because that church has a liberal position on communion and abortion.
Get the latest pro-life news and information on Twitter. Follow @LifeNewsHQ
Pelosi professes to be a devout Catholic but supports the killing of unborn babies in abortions up to birth and wants to force taxpayers to pay for their deaths.
In a letter published Friday on the archdiocese website, Cordileone explained his decision to deny communion to the Democrat leader:
“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.”
The archbishop stressed that his decision is “pastoral, not political” and he did not find any pleasure in it. Cordileone said he also has been praying for Pelosi and urging others to join him in the hopes that she will repent and recognize the value of all human life.
Pelosi, a Democrat leader, often mentions her Catholic faith while supporting radical pro-abortion policies that most Americans oppose. Under her leadership, the U.S. House passed a radical pro-abortion bill last fall that would legalize abortions for basically any reason up to birth nation-wide even if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
At the time, Cordileone 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.”
A few days later, Pelosi laughed at the archbishop’s statement at a press conference, saying she and Cordileone “have a disagreement about who should decide this.”
This week, Cordileone said he has received many letters from concerned Catholics about Pelosi misleading the public about abortion. And for a long time, he said he tried to be cautious, giving Pelosi the chance to repent and making attempts to talk with her before taking any action.
However, Cordileone said Pelosi’s continuous refusal to repent, her increasingly extreme pro-abortion actions and her public contempt for even Pope Francis’s pro-life teachings prompted him to act.
He thanked everyone who has joined him in praying for Pelosi through the Rose and Rosary for Nancy Campaign and asked people to continue praying for her change of heart.
Cordileone also encouraged people support pro-life advocates who help pregnant mothers in crisis through the archdiocese Stand With Moms programs.
“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,” the archbishop said.
Many U.S. bishops and priests have expressed concerns that pro-abortion Catholic politicians like Pelosi and President Joe Biden are “creating scandal” for the Catholic Church by encouraging evil. They have said the church must do something to make it clear that Catholics cannot support the killing of unborn babies in abortions and must repent before participating in Communion.
Among other things, Pelosi wants to force taxpayers to pay for elective abortions and force nuns who serve the poor and elderly to cover contraception that may cause abortions in their employee health plans. Once, she even called late-term abortions “sacred ground.”
