Posted on 05/23/2022 5:16:38 AM PDT by Kaslin
On Friday, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone announced in a letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that she is not to present herself for Holy Communion. This comes as she professes to be a “devout Catholic” despite her support for abortion, in direct contradiction of teachings of the Catholic Church. As the archbishop said in his announcement, he has made several efforts to steer Pelosi in the right direction before it came to this.
Archbishop Cordileone referenced the numerous attempts in tweeting a link to the announcement also pointing to “the grave evil she is perpetrating, the scandal she is causing, an[d] the danger to her own soul she is risking” regarding Pelosi.
The archbishop wrote his decision came after his letter from April 7, 2022, informing Pelosi “that, should you not publically repudiate your advocacy for abortion ‘rights’ or else refrain from referring to your Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion, I would have no choice but to make a declaration, in keeping with canon 915, that you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”
In a pastoral letter from last May, “Before I Formed You in the Womb I Knew You: A Pastoral Letter on the Human Dignity of the Unborn, Holy Communion, and Catholics in Public Life,” Archbishop Cordileone laid out the “gravity of the evil of abortion” and also discussed the “moral evil” involved, including with “cooperation.”
The reaction from those opposed to Friday’s announcement was apoplectic.
Several trends to do with the announcement found their way onto Twitter, including "#TaxTheChurch." Those in favor claim that the archbishop engaging in a matter with one of the faithful as high-profile as Pelosi is engaging in political activity.
Archbishop Cordileone also wrote a letter to the faithful of San Francisco, in which he referenced how he “received letters from very many of you over the years expressing distress over the scandal being caused by such Catholics in public life who promote such grievously evil practices as abortion.”
He also shared that he “responded that conversion is always better than exclusion, and before any such action can be taken it must be preceded by sincere and diligent efforts at dialogue and persuasion.”
In a pastoral letter from last May, “Before I Formed You in the Womb I Knew You: A Pastoral Letter on the Human Dignity of the Unborn, Holy Communion, and Catholics in Public Life,” Archbishop Cordileone laid out the “gravity of the evil of abortion” and also discussed the “moral evil” involved, including with “cooperation.”
The reaction from those opposed to Friday’s announcement was apoplectic.
Several trends to do with the announcement found their way onto Twitter, including "#TaxTheChurch." Those in favor claim that the archbishop engaging in a matter with one of the faithful as high-profile as Pelosi is engaging in political activity.
Archbishop Cordileone also wrote a letter to the faithful of San Francisco, in which he referenced how he “received letters from very many of you over the years expressing distress over the scandal being caused by such Catholics in public life who promote such grievously evil practices as abortion.”
He also shared that he “responded that conversion is always better than exclusion, and before any such action can be taken it must be preceded by sincere and diligent efforts at dialogue and persuasion.”
Those who make such arguments condemning the archbishop’s actions also surely did not read this point made by the archbishop: “Please know that I find no pleasure whatsoever in fulfilling my pastoral duty here. Speaker Pelosi remains our sister in Christ. Her advocacy for the care of the poor and vulnerable elicits my admiration. I assure you that my action here is purely pastoral, not political. I have been very clear in my words and actions about this.”
Archbishop Cordileone is not wading into political matters of the U.S. Congress. He is fulfilling his pastoral duty to lead a member of the Church back into the light. Speaker Pelosi remains the speaker.
Pelosi is indeed a high-profile figure. She is not only one of the most well-known Catholics in the country, but the world. By professing herself as a “devout” Catholic, she is creating a grave public scandal by also fighting in favor of abortion as strongly as she does.
The Church does not seek to remind the faithful about the truth of its stance firmly rejecting abortion because of politics, but because of truth. Abortion may have been a political issue for the past several decades, this month especially. The Church and her teachings, though, have been around for millenia.
For all the complaints about Pope Francis, he does affirm the Church’s stance on abortion. “His Holiness, Pope Francis, in keeping with his predecessors, has likewise been quite clear and emphatic in teaching on the dignity of human life in the womb,” Archbishop Cordileone reminded in his opening of Friday’s announcement.
He went into even greater detail in the letter to the faithful. “Pope Francis, as much as any pope in living memory, has repeatedly and vividly affirmed the Church’s clear and constant teaching that abortion is a grave moral evil,” the archhisop wrote, also pointing out that the pope’s remarks in standing up for life have been made “eloquently.”
In his announcement, as well as his letter to the faithful, Archbishop Cordileone laid out Speaker Pelosi’s recent support for abortion with her vowing to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which would not only codify, but expand Roe v. Wade. The House passed the WHPA last September.
Pelosi has also pushed to get rid of the Hyde Amendment, which protects taxpayers from having to fund elective abortions. The House has voted to do as much as well. Pelosi even referenced her Catholic faith while flagrantly touting her disregard for Hyde.
Most alarming is that Pelosi won’t even allow for a vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would enforce legal protections for babies born alive from abortions. Republicans currently have a discharge petition to try to force a vote.
While some may take issue with Cordileone’s act of fulfilling his pastoral duties, the archbishop is not only acting for the good of the Church, but for the good of Pelosi herself, and her soul.
The archbishop closed in part by mentioning that he “will continue to offer up prayer and fasting for [Pelosi]” and asks “all of the faithful of the Archdiocese of San Francisco to pray for all of our legislators, especially Catholic legislators who promote procured abortion, that with the help and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they may undergo a conversion of heart in this most grave matter and human life may be protected and fostered in every stage and condition of life.”
The letter to the faithful goes even more deeply. “Speaker Pelosi has been uppermost in my prayer intentions ever since I became the Archbishop of San Francisco. It was my prayer life that motivated me to ask people all around the country to join me in praying and fasting for her in the ‘Rose and Rosary for Nancy Campaign.’ I especially pray that she will see in the roses she has received a sign of the honest love and care that many thousands of people have for her,” Archbishop Cordileone wrote.
It is not merely Speaker Nancy Pelosi who professes to be a “devout” Catholic while being so pro-abortion. President Joe Biden is in the same position, though it does not appear that Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., or Bishop William E. Koenig of Wilmington, Delaware, will be so bold in standing up for not just the truth on abortion, but for President Biden’s soul.
Nevertheless, when it comes to the prayers of the faithful, one might also wish to pray for the courage of other pastors to have the same care and consideration as Archbishop Cordileone.
All over Twitter, I’m seeing “lifelong active Catholics” say they have NEVER seen ANYONE denied Communion.
That cannot be true. At a minimum, the divorced are not allowed. I’ve known many.
It is extremely rare but it does happen.
It is extremely rare but it does happen.
It's not rare at all.
The difference is that most Catholics don't need a very public letter.
“Divorced and remarried outside the Church” is the problem, not just “divorced”.
A majority of the world's Christians would disagree with you.
The Catholic Church thinks everyone needs them to be saved. You don’t need any of their rituals to be saved.
I question if Catholics who pray to Mary and other dead saints, sacrifice Jesus over and over, worship statues, thinks money speeds up getting people out of a made up purgatory, call a priest father and ask him for forgiveness, are saved.
Almost certainly, it didn't. The Pope is on record against such things. (Unwisely, in my view, but he didn't ask me.)
Some people outside the Church have this idea that the Pope calls all the shots and bishops are just obedient drones. Some are, but that's not necessarily the way it's supposed to work.
LOL! By your standards probably not. But we're not interested in your definitions; we're fine with our own.
other dead saints
If saints are dead, then heaven is a fraud, salvation is worthless, and the whole Christian enterprise is a bad joke.
sacrifice Jesus over and over
Catholics don't sacrifice Jesus over and over. You've been lied to.
worship statues
Catholics don't worship statues either. You've been lied to again.
thinks money speeds up getting people out of a made up purgatory
That was only outlawed 500 years ago. I think you need some new material!
are saved
You yourself said that the saints in heaven are dead. What's the point of being "saved" at all, then, much less bloviating about whether other people are "saved"? All there is to look forward to is being "dead," according to you.
Your statement is very flawed in understanding. Better not to throw it out there.
As a Christian do you ever ask a friend to pray for you? Catholics don’t worship the saints or Mary, we consider them friends and ask them to pray for us. That’s it. The rest is not worth writing about it is just so deliberately mischaracterized. God bless.
As opposed to the teaching of non-antinomian OSAS Protestants: Get saved. You now have absolute and infallible assurance you're going to heaven, unless you commit certain "too serious" sins*, which mean you were never actually saved in the first place. Repeat.
*The list of sins which are "too serious" depends on denomination, but almost all of them agree that "becoming Catholic" is on the list.
You wrote: forbidden unless the pregnancy will cause the death of the woman and child (e.g., an ectopic pregnancy).
A quibble, or pilpul as it were, Catholics forbid any direct action against the unborn child even in the case of danger to the mother’s life; however, treatment of the mother’s health problem is permitted even if it is known that the treatment might harm or even kill the unborn child.
So, at least some mothers who have been diagnosed with cancer were advised to have an abortion before starting treatment as the treatment could injure or kill the child. The Church would forbid the abortion, a direct act against the child, but allow the treatment.
Ectopic pregnancy is when the unborn child is not in the uterus but somewhere else, often in the tube. The health issue of having something in the tube that does not belong there can be serious for the mother and necessitates removal of that portion of the tube. *As an unintended side effect,* the unborn child dies. That is why this treatment, which is not an abortion, is permitted in this situation.
Over the decades, I have known and worked with several US bishops on the pro-life issue. The Vatican was probably consulted, but Abp. Cordileone (the name happens to mean "Lionheart") has been unusually bold and clear-spoken among the American bishops--and way beyond today's Vatican. He is probably making many at the Vatican nervous right now, but they know it's wisest to respect the instincts of the officer on the ground where the battle will be fought.
Pope Francis has thankfully spoken clearly about abortion, but he is no secular activist on anything beyond the rainforest.
Good question. The answer is no, if Church law were to be followed.
You wrote: I don’t think the church has any right to deny anyone communion. It is not their place to judge.
The Church has the right to deny people communion because the Church is what could be called the administrative body of communion.
So, a town in the US does not have the right to make rules about federal taxes, but the federal government does have that right.
The Church acts _in persona Christi_ in certain areas of life; in a similar way, an ambassador is the representative or agent of his own nation vis a vis another nation.
I am not a Catholic, but my opinion is one that crosses denominations. When you choose to attend a church or claim to be Catholic, Baptist etc., you are putting yourself under the authority of that Priest, Pastor, Minister etc. Part of that authority is protecting the rest of the flock. Just like crime is escalating with no enforcement, sin will fester if not called out. I am amazed at the people that say the church has no right to judge. If the sin is open, repeated, and unrepentant, it is a danger to the rest of the church. The New Testament full of examples calling out churches for allowing certain sins to persist and warning them to repent. The Catholic church is not the only church to take this stand against sin and apply church discipline.
In our local Calvary Chapel there was a lady who while still married, started sleeping with a married man. Not only was she open about this, she brought the man with her to church, flouting the relationship in front of her husband and others. They were confronted and when they refused to repent and discontinue the relationship, they were asked to leave. Their families and friends of course rose to their defense, “no one can tell you where you can worship!” Well, yes they can. Each church is a private entity. The rules are clear. When you are in open sin, you are asking everyone around you to be ok with and affirm your sin. That makes it their sin to. Although unpleasant, church discipline is necessary to keep the church healthy.
Of course this only applies to those who claim to be Christian and are members of the church. And there is a Biblical process for discipline. We should always attempt to bring those who are in sin to Christ and repentance. Like the couple I mentioned above, Pelosi’s behavior is open persistent sin, and contrary to the teachings of her church. Reconciliation and repentance have been refused, therefore the Archbishop is on firm ground. It should have happened long ago.
Interestingly enough, if a person goes through the motions of confessing without the intention to avoid the sin going forward, he remains in mortal sin and therefore the absolution of the priest has no effect, rendering the confession invalid.
>> O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all, because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love.
>> I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid in the near occasion of sin. Amen. <<
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