Following Meeting with Pope, News of Secret Meeting between Pelosi and her Bishop on Abortion

LifeSite ^ | February 18, 2009 | Kathleen Gilbert

[NYer]

SAN FRANCISCO, February 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In the wake of House Speaker Pelosi's closed-door meeting with Pope Benedict XVI last weekend, news has erupted that earlier this month Pelosi secretly met with her own bishop, Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco, to discuss her stance on abortion.  Pelosi had publicly accepted an invitation to meet with Niederauer after the Speaker attempted to justify abortion in light of Catholic teaching last year during an interview on NBC's Meet the Press.

Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV broke the news today that the promised meeting took place Sunday, February 8 in a third-party home in San Francisco.  Voris reports that Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said that the Speaker described the meeting as "cordial and pleasant ... a fair exchange and good." 

When asked whether Pelosi had changed her position on abortion to agree with Catholic teaching, Daly stated, "You won't see that happening.  She is not changing her position on abortion."

Attempts by LifeSiteNews.com to reach the Archbishop's office were unanswered by press time.

Pelosi got in hot water with Catholic Church officials and laity after she told Tom Brokaw of Meet the Press last August that "the doctors of the Church haven't been able to make that definition" on whether life begins at conception.

"The point is, is that it shouldn't have an impact on the woman's right to choose," she said.  "This isn't about abortion on demand, it's about a careful, careful consideration of all factors and - to - that a woman has to make with her doctor and her god."

Archbishop Niederauer joined a chorus of bishops condemning the comments, issuing a lengthy statement to correct Pelosi's error and invite her to "a conversation with me about these matters."  Pelosi immediately responded, saying she would "welcome the opportunity ... to go beyond our earlier most cordial exchange about immigration and needs of the poor to Church teaching on other significant matters."

Niederauer had met the Speaker in 2007 but did not touch upon the abortion issue because, Niederauer said, the issue of immigration was "very much the hot-button topic of the time."

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

"Catholic" Speaker Pelosi Denies that Catholicism Condemns Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08082502.html

26 US Bishops Have Rebuked Pelosi…So Far
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091004.html

San Francisco Archbishop Niederauer Says He Doesn't Know Nancy Pelosi Stand on Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07020802.html

[Constitutions Grandchild]

See, I'm just not clear on who starts the process. Maybe it is Neiderarer via the direction of the Holy See, then Burke would be the final decision, if appealed.

I had to deal with Canon Law when I worked for SLU Hospital/Cardinal Glennon. This was many, many years ago and I was young, still a Protestant and was fascinated by the workings of the Catholic Church. Whenever we wanted to change anything, we had to not only be responsible to local, state and federal law, but we had to engage outside counsel for Canon Law.

Not working in that environment any longer, and luckily not stepping in it bad enough to have to refer to it as a convert ;-), I've forgotten the chain of command.

[BelegStrongbow]

Well, for my own part, it would be wonderful to see the chain activated. It is truly past time for the Church Fathers to affirm in unmistakeable terms what is doctrine and what is sin. I am scandalized by SanFranNan (and I used to live within 20 miles of her district, so my discomfort goes back a ways). Let’s see action.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

It should be all of our prayers that it doesn't come to this. It really should. It grieves the heart of the Church when it gets to this point, and each of us should hope that she finds the right answer upon reflection and prayer.

However, neither God, nor the Church, is going to take a 2x4 to her head to get her to do it.

[BelegStrongbow]

All said and done, seeing that last would be...intriguing, at the least. Where’s the Michelangelo these days, to paint people like Pelosi into a vision of hell?

Even Bosch would do, IMHO.

[Fred]

'careful, careful'

What is the purpose of saying words over again. Pelosi does this all the time. Her presentation is horrible and very annoying.

She is free to not vote on any legislation that is related to abortion and the sanctity of life. But if she did this then it would affect her ability to fundraise with the pro-abort organizations.

Pelosi is all about money that is why she supports abortion.

[Ransomed]

Yup, that’s another good post. The failure of the hierarchy to use public discipline to teach what the Church believes about baby butchery will be looked back at as a HORRENDOUS scandal, dwarfing the homosexualist priest scandal.

Freegards

[grellis]

I know--he took her to task on Prop 2. AFAIK, that's been it. I'd love to know what church she attends. It's not St Mary, Holy Cross or St Gerard.

Does she even live in Lansing? There's no official Governor's residence.

[Lorica]

Yeah... “social justice”, a meaningless phrase intended simply to silence any opposition to the fascist processes that the speaker intends to implement, is more important than mass infanticide.

The term "social justice" has been robbed of its original meaning in the same way as words like gay, rainbow, etc. Now the phrase is just a big red flag, and rightly so because of the way it has been agendized. (is that a word?) Social justice, even though I cringe just typing it out, has its right place when used in right teaching - the papal encyclicals Rerum Novarum and Quadragesimo Anno are probably the gold standards.

And although I would say Marxist rather than fascist, I agree with you regarding how it has been fashioned into something more important than the fight for unborn life. And abortion is the ultimate evil that will bring down a mighty judgment on us.

[Lorica]

It dawned on my that the Catholic priest was being polite, and not reminding O’Reilly (probably a Catholic) on the air, that the Constitution also supports the “right to life”, so as not to embarrass him. But, I’ll bet he mentioned it to him once the cameras were off, or by e-mail!

I wish the priest, whoever he was, would have verbally taken O'Reilly to the woodshed. I'm sick to death of timid priests.

[MrB]

Hayek on “social justice”:

In substance this has meant that the individual is no longer bound only by rules which confine the scope of his private actions, but has become increasingly subject to the commands of authority... With the presumed moral superiority of a society whose members serve the same hierarchy of ends, [this has] made the totalitarian trend appear under a moral guise. It is indeed the concept of ‘social justice’ which has been the Trojan Horse through which totalitarian has entered.

[Lorica]

Don’t think I’m disagreeing with you in substance, though IMO the totalitarianism is marxist.

[MrB]

Leftists take a LOT more offense when it is pointed out that they are fascists. They’re kinda used to being called socialists and Marxists.

[Lorica]

?

I’ve not considered marxism and fascism to be interchangeable even though they both operate through totalitarianism, and fascism is usually (I think - I’m wading in deeper water here) more commonly associated with a far-right gov’t. (think South America). So if I’ve got it all wrong, I’d be interested in how they are the same.

[MrB]

The best thing I could suggest is that you read

Liberal Fascism

and Hayek's Road to Serfdom.

Leftists are totalitarian collectivists, which is a redundancy in and of itself. Fascism is totalitarian collectivism, just a different side of the same coin as communism. It's a leftist myth that fascism is "far right". Nazis were fascists and socialists. They had one element that the left does not have - a value for tradition and nation. Not all fascists are Nazis.

[Lorica]

Leftists are totalitarian collectivists, which is a redundancy in and of itself. Fascism is totalitarian collectivism, just a different side of the same coin as communism. It's a leftist myth that fascism is "far right". Nazis were fascists and socialists. They had one element that the left does not have - a value for tradition and nation. Not all fascists are Nazis.

Thanks - you said quite a bit in few words. I've read a bit on communism/marxism over the years, but not much on fascism. I'll have to do some more reading.

[bboop]

Dennis Miller said that? hardihar. I think the Pope said, “No pix.” And I bet it was because he knew she would use the pix for her own agenda. Good for him.

[It's me]

As I said on another thread, Speaker Polosi has just received her 2nd (and last) call to repentance and reconciliation. The next move is up to Speaker Polosi. She has exhausted her appeals.

Yes. Not too many of us Catholics are asked by our bishop much less our Pope (!) to repent.

[janereinheimer]

Same thing struck me as very, very curious.

Where’s the disconnect between Catholics and their Pope?

[tiki]

Yes, they are trying to creat God in their image and opinion, and isn’t it funny that “her God” seems to want everything just the way they want it.

[Mat_Helm]

Pelosi has excommunicated herself from the Church and Christ and is in mortal sin if she takes the Eucharist. Any Priest or Bishop that openly supports her and her view without letting her know of her grave error and sin also commits a sin, including the Pope. The Pope is the vicar of Christ and carries the responsibility of Peter as handed down from Christ to Peter and from Peter to each and every other Pope since Christ was on earth and instructed the apostles that whoever sins you forgive are forgiven and whoever sins are held bound are held bound. Peter has the keys to the kingdom.