House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – hitherto self-proclaimed to be a devout Catholic – has essentially been booted out of membership. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, prelate of the Archdiocese of San Francisco has barred Pelosi from receiving Holy Communion. He sent her a letter advising her of her excommunication.
It is not a permanent mark on her official record. According to the letter, Pelosi may not receive Holy Communion “until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy of the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance.” In the absence of repentance, she is outside the state of grace.
And it is not a regional issue. In the cannons of the Church, it applies to the Universal Church – although some dioceses may not enforce the ban. In fact, Pelosi received Holy Communion in Washington after receiving the letter
Banned from Holy Communion is a lot more than a slap on the hand. Banning a person from Communion means that the Church has determined that the person is no longer within the communion of the Church. It is a form of automatic excommunication-lite, lacking the official hearing and ritual.
The Catholic Church regards having an abortion, performing an abortion, encouraging abortions or supporting abortions in any way is a soul-damning mortal sin. That is the basic policy even though Church leaders all the way up to the Pope have waffled on the issue for political and financial reasons.
So, Pelosi is no longer a Catholic in good standing. Actually, she has not been for a long time. It is just that the Church has not gotten around to calling her out until now.
I know a lot of folks will say it is not really an excommunication. But they are either rationalizing or do not understand what it means to be barred from the Communion rail. It means you are no longer entitled to share the fundamental sacrament that attests to your place in the body of Christ. You are no longer a member of the communion. That sounds like an excommunication – at least a temporary one.
The current Pope takes a more secular view. For whatever reasons, he is not inclined to uphold the Church’s policy. He does say that abortion is a grievous sin against God and the Church. He just is not inclined to enforce the rules of the Church. Which is one of the reasons the Church has been losing credibility and members.
In fact, Pope Francis advised the American bishops against barring President Biden from receiving Holy Communion. The Holy Father reminds me of those leftwing prosecutors who know the law, but just do not want to enforce it for political reasons.
The fact that Catholic politicians and the Catholic Church want to play a game of hypocrisy over abortion, it is of little importance to the world-at-large – and me. The point of the commentary is not to judge Pelosi’s standing in the Church or the disposition of her immortal soul. It is just to draw attention to the arrogant hypocrisy of people who place themselves about the rules and the laws – civic or religious.
So, there ‘tis.
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