The Catholic archbishop of San Francisco is banning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from receiving one the most sacred Christian rituals in her hometown over her support of abortion rights.
Salvatore Cordileone wrote in a public letter posted on Twitter that Pelosi should not accept Holy Communion at mass and that priests will not offer it to her if she presents herself.
Cordileone said “after numerous attempts to speak with her to help her understand the grave evil she is perpetrating,” she will be refused the rite “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.”
Pelosi is a member of the Archdiocese and a longtime vocal advocate for abortion rights, saying that her abortion rights position is in line with her Catholic beliefs. In September, she introduced a bill to the House floor to preserve abortion access nationwide and counter the Texas law that prohibits terminating a pregnancy after six weeks in the state. The measure passed 219-210, almost entirely along party lines. Senate Republicans blocked passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021 in February.
More recently, she has called on the Democratic party to fight for a woman’s right to choose after the United States Supreme Court draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked at the start of the month.
“We need to activate our communities and make our voices heard,” Pelosi recently said in a video posted in social media. “People need to see each other speaking out on this kitchen table issue for families.”
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality of abortion in coming weeks.
Cordileone said that Pelosi’s stance on abortion has become more extreme over the years and he condemned her for citing her Catholic faith when justifying abortion as a woman’s choice. He pointed to a recent statement she made to the Seattle Times Editorial Board as an example of her setting herself in direct opposition with the church.
“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,” Pelosi told the Times. “They say to me, ‘Nancy Pelosi thinks she knows more about having babies than the Pope.’ Yes I do. Are you stupid?”
