San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone rebuked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Thursday for claiming to be a “devout Catholic” while defending taxpayer-funded abortions.
“Let me repeat: no one can claim to be a devout Catholic and condone the killing of innocent human life, let alone have the government pay for it,” Cordileone said in his statement, which continued:
The right to life is a fundamental – the most fundamental – human right, and Catholics do not oppose fundamental human rights. To use the smokescreen of abortion as an issue of health and fairness to poor women is the epitome of hypocrisy: what about the health of the baby being killed? What about giving poor women real choice, so they are supported in choosing life? This would give them fairness and equality to women of means, who can afford to bring a child into the world. It is people of faith who run pro-life crisis pregnancy clinics; they are the only ones who provide poor women life-giving alternatives to having their babies killed in their wombs. I cannot be prouder of my fellow Catholics who are so prominent in providing this vital service. To them I say: you are the ones worthy to call yourselves “devout Catholics”!
During a Thursday press conference, Pelosi said that while she feels “blessed” to be a “devout Catholic” mother of five, she does not believe it is her place to prevent poor women from having abortions.
“Because it’s an issue of health of many women in America, especially those in lower income situations, and different states, and it is something that has been a priority for many of us a long time,” Pelosi said in part.
“As a devout Catholic and mother of five in six years, I feel that God blessed my husband and me with our beautiful family, five children in six years almost to the day. But it’s not up to me to dictate that that’s what other people should do and it’s an issue of fairness and justice for poor women in our country,” she continued.
WATCH:
.@SpeakerPelosi: "As a devout Catholic and mother of 5 in 6 years, I feel that God blessed my husband and me with our beautiful family" but taxpayer funded abortion "is an issue of fairness and justice for poor women in our country." pic.twitter.com/o6BbeuCKmJ
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) July 22, 2021
The issue of how best to handle self-professed Catholic politicians who defy Church teachings regarding public support for abortion has become a flashpoint issue since President Joe Biden’s inauguration. In June, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted overwhelmingly in favor of drafting a document that could lead to a rebuke of publicly pro-abortion Catholic politicians.
The Code of Canon Law stipulates that those who are “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a ‘criminal’ practice, gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life.”
Related: Diocese Fires Back After Pro-Abortion Democrat Complains On Twitter About Being Denied Communion