On Friday The SanFrancisco Chronicle reported that Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has barred Nancy Pelosi from receiving the sacrement of communion until she reverses her stance on abortion. Speaker Pelosi is a lifelong practicing Catholic. She, like many Democrats, holds that while she personally rejects abortion, she is obligated to not allow her religious beliefs dictate public policy. Abortion is still legal, and the Speaker of the House must represent all Americans consistent with the establishment clause of the Constitution.
Archbishop Cordileone is seeking to punish the Speaker for not imposing her Catholic beliefs on a secular republic. This position could apply to President Biden and many other Catholic Democrats. He is doing so in public and that makes this a political act.
When John Kennedy ran for president, there were many who feared that a President Kennedy would be beholden to the Pope. At the time this was seen as a disqualification. Only by making clear the distinction between personal faith and public service was President Kennedy able to become the first Catholic President. This model has persisted throughout my life.
The Archbishop is naive to think that the Christian Nationalists have transcended their historical animus towards Catholics. He is ignoring the specific pastoral guidance provided by Pope Francis. It is wrong of him to do so. Membership in the Catholic Church is in decline. Seeking to punish politicians in a public way only hastens the decline for a generation clearly souring on organized religion.
Having squandered their moral authority through a decades long attempt to conceal the scope and scale of the Priestly sex abuse scandal, America’s conservative catholic hierarchy should be more circumspect. As far as I can tell, political game playing only serves to further alienate people from the Catholic Church. If this was really about saving speaker Pelosi’s soul, he would have done this in the privacy of the confessional.