Posted on 01/08/2007 6:45:19 PM PST by Coleus
WASHINGTON, January 8, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pro-abortion House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the most powerful Catholic in Congress is recasting her image as a Italian Catholic mother, despite her stark defiance of the Catholic Church’s teachings opposing abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, and same-sex marriage. The Speaker publicized well in advance her visits to St. Leo the Great church in Baltimore and attendance of a special Mass at Trinity University offered for victims of hurricane Katrina and of the Darfur genocide, as part of her plan to propel the image of a good Roman Catholic mother and grandmother at home in the Democratic party.
“The Catholic Mass also signals something very important,” Katherine Hall Jamieson, a liberal professor, told the Baltimore Sun. “The Democratic Party wants those defecting Catholics who have voted for Republicans for a long time but came back to the Democratic Party in 2006 to see the Democratic Party as home.” Pelosi’s much publicized attendance of the Catholic Mass at Trinity January 3rd has dismayed pro-life advocates looking to recently appointed Archbishop Donald Wuerl to correct Pelosi’s assertions that she is a “conservative Catholic.”
Judie Brown, president of American Life League, had appealed to Archbishop Wuerl to use what power and influence he could muster to deter Nancy Pelosi from making the Mass at Trinity University a political spectacle. Brown said it is “unconscionable for Rep. Pelosi to call herself a Catholic in good standing while supporting the heinous act of abortion.” “As a practicing Catholic mother and grandmother, I am highly offended that this woman would use the influence of her new office to flaunt her Catholic label while advocating the brutal murder of preborn children without apology” Brown wrote in Human Events.
“A thinking person with any sort of moral sensibilities would conclude that the bald-faced contradiction between advocating for abortion and heralding one’s attendance at a Catholic Mass is simply outrageous and should not be permitted.” Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Washington and the Archbishop, told LifeSiteNews.com that the Archdiocese had nothing to do with the event. Gibbs said Archbishop Wuerl did not interfere since Trinity University was under the jurisdiction of a religious order, the Sisters of Notre Dame, not the Archdiocese, and said she was redirecting complaints to Trinity. Gibbs did not indicate whether Wuerl intends to discipline Pelosi for her public support of abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, and same-sex marriage.
Pelosi’s Catholic Mother and Grandmother public relations ploy may be working to distract voters from her uncontradicted anti-Catholic beliefs. A Rasmussen Reports national phone survey of 800 likely voters released Friday show Pelosi's approval rating has jumped to 43 percent -- up 19 points from November. Pelosi, who has received a 100 percent rating from NARAL, a radical pro-abortion group, vowed to reinstate funding for embryonic stem-cell research in the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress.
To respectfully contact Archbishop Wuerl:
The Most Reverend Donald W. Wuerl
Archdiocese of Washington
P.O. Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017-0260
301-853-4500
Secretary to the Archbishop: Rev. Carter Griffin, 301-853-4500
Archbishop Emeritus of Washington
Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, 301-853-4500
Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia:
Most Rev. Kevin J. Farrell, 301-853-4520
Vicar General and Moderator of Hispanic Ministries:
Most Rev. Francisco Gonzalez, S.F., 301-853-4566
Vicar General and Moderator for Ethnic Ministries:
Most Rev. Martin D. Holley, 301-853-4563 Chancellor: Jane Golden Belford, Esq., 301-853-4520
To contact Trinity University:
Ann Pauley, Media Relations
Trinity, 125 Michigan Avenue NE,
Washington, DC 20017
pauleya@trinitydc.edu
(202) 884-9725
See Judie Brown’s Article in Human Events:
Pro-Abortion Pelosi Insults Catholic Faith
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18732
See National Catholic Reporter’s interview with Nancy Pelosi discussing life as a “pro-choice Catholic” and “conservative Catholic”:
Roots in faith, family and party guide Pelosi’s move to power
http://ncronline.org/mainpage/specialdocuments/Pelosi.htm
See Previous LifeSite Coverage:
Will New Archbishop of Washington Deny Pro-Abort Nancy Pelosi Communion at Jan. 3 Showcase Mass? http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/dec/06122005.html
Pro-abortion Dem House Leader Calls Herself a “Conservative Catholic” http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/nov/02111804.html
US Bishops Set to Tell Catholics Opposed to Teaching on Abortion or Homosexuality not to Receive Communion http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/oct/06102001.html
Highest Authorities in Vatican Back Denial of Communion to Pro-Abortion Politicians
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/jul/04070501.html
Ahhh...well that may be what the ole "private prayer" thing is all about. Half of CINO Congress is in "private prayer" with their priest...How convenient for everyone, to skirt the dillema.
God will sort them out, but it's not up to the bishop in that case.
Amen to that.
...but it's not up to the bishop in that case.
I didn't think I addressed that...But on a similar note IMO, the ole "jurisdictional argument thing" is getting tired. Bishops are consecrated for everyone, says Bishop Sheen, not a particular diocese.
Oh...I think I msunderstood you
Thanks.
IMO, you can't deny someone Mass..that seems a bit ridiculous to expect a prist to do...Communion however is another story. Wonder what happened.
I haven't seen any of the photo-ops. Nothing like Bill Clinton waving his Bible outside of church, or the close-up of John Kerry receiving the Host at communion.
I would hope that Archbishop Wuerl communicated privately with the Pelosi camp beforehand and warned her not to go up for communion. That would be the proper thing to do.
He has a reputation as a good, conservative bishop, although you never know what someone will do in the crunch like this until it happens.
Dear Cicero,
"I would hope that Archbishop Wuerl communicated privately with the Pelosi camp beforehand and warned her not to go up for communion. That would be the proper thing to do."
That would be the proper thing to do. At least at first.
Should that approach fail, the proper thing to do would be to deny the pro-abort Holy Communion.
Unfortunately, Archbishop Wuerl has previously stated, publicly, that he would not do that.
sitetest
thank you, you too.
So, the words of the Creed are subjective and have but the meaning each individual applies to them. That sorta defeats the purpose of a Creed, no?
Is the Pope German?
There are not a few of us around who think sitetest is the apotheosis of Catholicism
And the fact is Bill Ritter cannot change Roe - only the Supreme Court or a Constitutional amendment can. Ritter's statement merely recognizes that reality and is basically the same position Bill Owens had.
The real question is if Roe were overturned and the legislature sent him a bill prohibiting practitioners from performing abortions would he sign it? With the Senate and the Colorado legislature both in Dem hands, we won't find out anytime soon.
BTW, the South Dakota proposal was really dumb - it would have sent a case to decided whether to overturn Roe before we have a solid pro-life majority on the Court, which may be never with the Senate back in Dem hands.
"It's not part of my agenda to change these laws."- Bill Ritter
It's not part of his agenda to change laws that permit the murder of innocent life? And you think he is pro life? I think we're done here.
Dear sitetest,
I was not addressing the issue of Trinity Univ. in my reply #31, but since you brought it up, the article says, "Gibbs said Archbishop Wuerl did not interfere since Trinity University was under the jurisdiction of a religious order, the Sisters of Notre Dame, not the Archdiocese, and said she was redirecting complaints to Trinity."
I am not defending his (in)action at Trinity. There certainly are things he could have done. I was just pointing out that expecting Abp. Wuerl to intervene regarding an event in a different diocese was either ignorant, unreasonable or both.
The fact you can't spin your way out of is that a state governor has almost no influence on the pro-life issue.
Ritter has always publicly stated he's pro-life and has taken a lot of heat from Democrats about that. I've already told you my doubts about how he might act on those views if he had legislation on his desk not supported by his party, but that's speculation on my part. Archbishop Chaput is not going to deny a practicing Catholic communion over nothing more than a suspicion. This is not at all comparable to the Pelosi situation.
Dear ELS,
1. I thought that perhaps you missed that the article was tying Archbishop Wuerl's possible involvement to the Trinity event.
If you didn't miss it, I'm not sure why you said, "The author needs to do a little more homework." The author clearly tied Archbishop Wuerl to the Trinity event, not the Baltimore event:
"Judie Brown, president of American Life League, had appealed to Archbishop Wuerl to use what power and influence he could muster to deter Nancy Pelosi from making the Mass at Trinity University a political spectacle."
Thus, the issue that was relevant to Archbishop Wuerl was the Mass at Trinity.
The mention of the Baltimore event was likely made because Ms. Pelosi had included it in an entire calendar of events marking her taking of the speakership, of which the Trinity Mass was also part. The mention of the Baltimore event was tied to the larger point that Ms. Pelosi is trying to re-make her image as a Catholic grandmother.
2. "Gibbs said Archbishop Wuerl did not interfere since Trinity University was under the jurisdiction of a religious order, the Sisters of Notre Dame, not the Archdiocese, and said she was redirecting complaints to Trinity."
As others have pointed out, this is pretty much baloney.
Although the university is controlled by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (once a very fine teaching order), this is a religious order of nuns, and thus, have no authority of their own to establish public Masses within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Washington without the permission and ecclesiastical oversight of the Archbishop of Washington. Whatever local ecclesial authority is exercised at the university, it isn't greater, and is likely less than that exercised by a pastor of a local parish within the archdiocese.
Archbishops of Washington have acted far more intrusively within the affairs of Catholic colleges, and Catholic parishes run by specific orders (including a parish run by the Jesuits), within the geographical boundaries of the archdiocese.
The buck should have stopped with Archbishop Wuerl. Instead, he ducked.
sitetest
I was just pointing out that expecting Abp. Wuerl to intervene regarding an event in a different diocese was either ignorant, unreasonable or both. >>>
true
"Gibbs said Archbishop Wuerl did not interfere since Trinity University was under the jurisdiction of a religious order, the Sisters of Notre Dame, not the Archdiocese,>>>
They just love to break Canon Law.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1764462/posts?page=221#221
The bishop should know better
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