Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) flaunted her disobedience to her bishop in an interview on her Catholicism, saying that she always feels “there’s an angel” on her shoulder despite her vehement support for abortion.
Pelosi spoke about her views on Catholicism and Pope Francis with the National Catholic Reporter, a left-leaning Catholic news source, in an interview published Tuesday.
The California Democrat has defended abortions of unborn babies for many years, though the Catholic Church teaches that abortion is “a crime against human life,” “constitutes a grave offense,” and that a person who obtains an abortion is automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Pelosi has previously described herself as a “devout Catholic” in spite of her pro-abortion stances, drawing heavy criticism from Catholics who adhere to the teaching of the church.
Pelosi criticized Catholic bishops for taking a stand against pro-abortion policies as she spoke with the National Catholic Reporter — and she said that she ignored the mandate of her bishop, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who told her in 2022 to stop receiving communion over her pro-abortion advocacy. The Catholic Church has always held certain conditions for the faithful to receive communion, including that a communicant be a faithful Catholic, living in accord with Catholic Church teaching, and in a “state of grace,” meaning that they had recently gone to confession.
“I received Communion anyway,” she told the National Catholic Reporter, adding of Cordileone. “That’s his problem, not mine.”
“My Catholic faith is, Christ is my savior,” she added. “It has nothing to do with the bishops.”
Later in the interview, she told the publication, “My faith is always with me. I always feel there’s an angel on my shoulder.”
Cordileone’s admonition came after he repeatedly warned her that she could be excommunicated for publicly supporting abortion in violation of Church teaching.
“You cannot be a good Catholic and support expanding a government-approved right to kill innocent human beings,” he wrote in 2021.
And in 2022, when he told Pelosi not to receive communion, Cordileone said: “You are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance.”
In a statement made Tuesday evening, the archbishop addressed Pelosi’s remarks, quoting the book of Ezekiel from the Bible:
“What immediately comes to my mind are the words of the prophet Ezekiel: ‘If the just turn away from their right conduct and do evil when I place a stumbling block before them, then they shall die. Since you did not warn them about their sin, they shall still die, and the just deeds that they performed will not be remembered on their behalf. I will, however, hold you responsible for their blood. If, on the other hand, you warn the just to avoid sin, and they do not sin, they will surely live because of the warning, and you in turn shall save your own life.’”
Cordileone stressed that his “overriding concern and chief responsibility” is to make sure that souls in his care go to heaven, arguing that he has a duty “not only to teach, console, heal and forgive, but also, when necessary, to correct, admonish and call to conversion.”
“One of the most the effective ways for a pastor to accomplish these duties is by way of dialogue, honest dialogue, where each party listens openly and honestly, seeking to understand the other, and being honest with one’s own self,” he added. “My own personal experience has taught me that this kind of dialogue can dispel misperceptions and melt away hostilities, and build new bonds of friendship. I therefore earnestly repeat once again my plea to Speaker Pelosi to allow this kind of dialogue to happen.”
He concluded: “I ask this not only to dialogue in areas of disagreement, such as if and when it can ever be morally permissible to kill innocent human life, but also in other critical areas where our views on behalf of human life and dignity are aligned, especially threats to religious liberty internationally and the plight of immigrants domestically. This should not be a problem, as Catholics are not afraid of the truth.”
Pelosi’s remarks come as many high-profile Democrats, including President Joe Biden, suggest that their pro-abortion advocacy is compatible with Catholicism. Leftist groups like Catholics for Choice have attempted to sway Catholic teaching on pivotal topics, including life, marriage, and gender, suggesting that Catholicism is not tied to any firm principle.
In the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump did better with Catholic voters — he won 50% of the Catholic vote in 2020 and 54% of the Catholic vote in 2024.
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