San Francisco Archbishop Bars Pelosi from Receiving Communion over Abortion Stance
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San Francisco archbishop Salvatore Cordileone informed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) in a recent letter that she is no longer eligible to receive Communion in the Archdiocese of San Francisco because of her support for abortion.
Cordileone sent a letter to Pelosi on May 19 informing her of the decision, the Catholic News Agency reported. Pelosi may still receive Communion in other archdioceses.
Cordileone announced his decision in two separate letters, one to laymen and the other to priests.
“After numerous attempts to speak with her to help her understand the grave evil she is perpetrating. . . . 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 repudiates her support for abortion ‘rights’ and confess and receive absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance,” Cordileone wrote to the Catholic public.
In his letter to priests, Cordileone wrote that he was not “weaponizing the Eucharist” but simply implementing church teaching.
“I have been very clear all along, in both my words and my actions, that my motive is pastoral, not political,” Cordileone wrote.
Pelosi has previously invoked her Catholic faith when speaking about abortion rights.
“As a devout Catholic and mother of five in six years, I feel that God blessed my husband and me with our beautiful family,” Pelosi said at a press conference in July 2021. “But it’s not up to me to dictate that’s what other people should do and it’s an issue of fairness and justice for poor women in our country.”
Cordileone, meanwhile, previously stated that pro-abortion Catholics “should not come forward to receive Holy Communion,” in a letter in May 2021.
CatholicVote, a leading Catholic organization in the U.S., defended the archbishop’s decision as one that is ultimately compatible with church doctrine.
“Catholics across America commend Archbishop Cordileone and his pastoral leadership in handling the scandal posed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. For too long Catholic public officials have created confusion and disunity by advocating for policies that destroy innocent human life – in direct contradiction of the teachings of the Catholic faith,” said Brian Burch, President of CatholicVote, said in a statement.
“The persistent disobedience of these public officials is a source of enormous sadness and scandal that begged for a response. The Church has no choice but to protect itself and to encourage all of its members to live in communion with its teachings. For the sake of Speaker Pelosi and the rest of the flock in his charge, Archbishop Cordileone is right to call her to return to full communion with the Church. We hope and pray she will do so,” he said.
Cordileone’s announcement on Friday comes weeks after the leak to Politico of a Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn the Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.
