Archbishop Cordileone Bans Nancy Pelosi from Receiving Communion in San Francisco

 Andrea Widburg has more on Archbishop Cordileone's banning (we used to call it excommunication) of Nancy Pelosi for her full-throated support of abortion.  The story can be found at the American Thinker and is entitled A courageous archbishop finally takes on Nancy Pelosi. As noted, the ban only applies to the San Fransico diocese. She can still receive communion in Washington, D.C.  But it is hoped that the actions of Archbishop Cordileone will give the Cardinal in Washington a little courage as well.

There are two things Nancy Pelosi has loudly and proudly boasted about for decades: Her absolute support for abortion and her staunch Catholicism. Of course, those two things are inconsistent because, even under the progressive Pope Francis, abortion remains anathema to the Church. With that in mind, it’s good news that, on Friday, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone had the courage to announce that, until Pelosi repudiates her support for abortion, she should not be admitted to Holy Communion in her home base of San Francisco nor should she present herself to receive the Eucharist.

Nancy Pelosi is not just a lukewarm abortion supporter. In 2013, Pelosi opposed a bill banning late-term abortions with the jaw-dropping statement, “As a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me.... This shouldn’t have anything to do with politics.” She’s also claimed that videos showing trafficking in fetal body parts are fake, that unborn babies aren’t human, that pro-lifers are plagued by “this conscience thing,” and that the Church has no idea when life begins.

All of that makes for an interesting stance for a “practicing and respectful Catholic” to take. Pope Francis, who assumed that office in 2013, the same year Pelosi linked Catholicism and abortion, has been remarkably clear that abortion is an untouchable third rail, one as to which he will not show any flexibility. Over the years, Pope Francis has stated that “Abortion is murder,” likened abortion to “hir[ing] a hitman” in order to solve a problem,” called aborting disabled children a Nazi practice, informed physicians that abortion is “against the Hippocratic oath” and “is an evil in and of itself,” and said that abortion is “incompatible” with our obligation to respect the environment and creation.