Just to be clear, someone in the state of serious sin should not approach the Eucharist. And a lot of Catholics are upset that people like Pelosi are not denied communion, according to the clear teaching in canon law that persons guilty of “manifest public sin” should not be communicated. However, one wrong doesn’t justify another.
Can. 916 A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.
The issue with Catholics who are married and then enter into a civil union (the Church's term for what is typically called a "civil marriage") with another person afterwards is that they are unable to receive absolution:
Can. 987 To receive the salvific remedy of the sacrament of penance, a member of the Christian faithful must be disposed in such a way that, rejecting sins committed and having a purpose of amendment, the person is turned back to God.
Unless they leave that civil union and are either reunited with their spouses...or unless they remain celibate...they have not rejected the sins they have committed (and are committing every time they have sexual relations with their civil union partner).
And a lot of Catholics are upset that people like Pelosi are not denied communion, according to the clear teaching in canon law that persons guilty of “manifest public sin” should not be communicated.
I think that the real issue here is that the home bishops have not made public declarations that people like Pelosi, Kerry, Biden, O'Malley, etc., have not made public declarations that these public figures have taken public positions that place them squarely outside of Church teaching, such as their public support and voting for abortion and same-sex "marriage". And as such they are manifest public sinners who must not approach Holy Communion until they have publicly repented of those positions.
I honestly don't see that happening any time in the near future. The reason why is because I don't see a huge effort to preach personal morality from the "cathedra", much less public morality. Sure, every once in a while I will see a veiled reference in a homily. But no major effort. No preaching, no pastoral letters, no parish bulletin handouts, nothing. Without that background work, we won't see proclamations declaring that an individual person doesn't meet standards.
However, one wrong doesn’t justify another.
The real wrong in both cases is a lack of courage in teaching the unvarnished truth. Again, I know that there are some good bishops and some good priests, but they are in the distinct minority.
In the meantime, I can listen again this morning about the importance of "being nice."