San Francisco, Calif., Sep 5, 2008 / 17:10 pm
The Archbishop of San Francisco George H. Niederauer has issued a response to remarks made by U.S. House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi regarding her recent comments on abortion and Catholic teaching. Commenting that her rejection of the immorality of abortion has produced “widespread consternation,” the archbishop said it is his duty to consider whether Rep. Pelosi should receive Holy Communion. He then invited the Democratic leader to converse with him about Catholic faith and morals.
Writing in the September 5 issue of Catholic San Francisco, the archdiocesan newspaper, Archbishop Niederauer stated that Rep. Pelosi’s remarks were in “serious conflict” with Church teaching. He said it was his responsibility to “teach clearly what Christ in his Church teaches about faith and morals, and to oppose erroneous, misleading and confusing positions when they are advanced.”
Citing other bishops’ comments on Rep. Pelosi’s two televised interviews and a statement released through her office, he said it was his “particular duty” to address them.
On an August 24 interview on Meet the Press, Rep. Pelosi referenced her dissent from Church teaching, saying, “So there's some areas where we're in agreement and some areas where we're not, and one being a woman's right to choose, and the other being stem cell research.”