Calling abortion “the most pressing human rights challenge of our time,” Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone on Sunday invoked the excommunication of prominent Catholic segregationists in the early 1960s as an example of a legitimate response to Catholics politicians who support “a great moral evil.”
In an op-ed published in the Washington Post, the leader of the Archdiocese of San Francisco pushed back against recent statements by Catholic politicians who have denounced a new state law in Texas that prohibits abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
The op-ed doesn’t mention any politicians by name, and it stops short of advocating excommunication for any specific pro-abortion politicians. President Joseph Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who lives in the San Francisco Archdiocese, are among the Catholic political leaders who have come out strongly against the Texas law.
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Dennis Callahan, Archdiocese of San Francisco/Public domain.
In the op-ed, Archbishop Cordileone draws a parallel between the abortion politics of today and the institutional racial discrimination that existed in the United States in the mid-20th century.
He specifically cited the example of Archbishop Joseph Rummel, an outspoken civil rights leader who led the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 1935 to 1964.
“Rummel did not ‘stay in his lane.’ Unlike several other bishops throughout this country’s history, he did not prioritize keeping parishioners and the public happy above advancing racial justice,” Archbishop Cordileone wrote. “Instead, he began a long, patient campaign of moral suasion to change the opinions of pro-segregation White Catholics.”
Archbishop Rummel’s campaign included admitting two Black students to New Orleans’ Notre Dame Seminary in 1948. Three years later, he ordered the removal of “white” and “colored” signs from Catholic churches in his archdiocese. In 1953, he ordered an end to segregation in the archdiocese, and he formally integrated New Orleans’ Catholic schools in 1962.
“Many White Catholics were furious at this disruption of the long-entrenched segregationist status quo,” Archbishop Cordileone wrote.
“They staged protests and boycotts. Rummel patiently sent letters urging a conversion of heart, but he was also willing to threaten opponents of desegregation with excommunication,” he continued.
“On April 16, 1962, he followed through, excommunicating a former judge, a well-known writer and a segregationist community organizer. Two of the three later repented and died Catholics in good standing,” the archbishop wrote.
“Was that wrong? Was that weaponizing the Eucharist?” Archbishop Cordileone asked in the op-ed.“No. Rummel recognized that prominent, high-profile public advocacy for racism was scandalous: It violated core Catholic teachings and basic principles of justice, and also led others to sin.”
Archbishop Cordileone noted that Texas is providing $100 million to fund pregnancy centers, adoption agencies, and maternity homes while also providing mothers who want to keep their babies with free counseling, parenting help, diapers, formula and job training.
“You cannot be a good Catholic and support expanding a government-approved right to kill innocent human beings. The answer to crisis pregnancies is not violence but love, for both mother and child,” he wrote.
“This is hardly inappropriate for a pastor to say,” Archbishop Cordileone concluded. “If anything, Catholic political leaders’ response to the situation in Texas highlights the need for us to say it all the louder.”
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Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey walks across the campus of St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts, on April 9, 2024. / Credit: Screenshot of St. John’s Prep Facebook page last visited April 19, 2024
Boston, Mass., Apr 23, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).
Pro-lifers in the Archdiocese of Boston are criticizing Cardinal Seán O’Malley over two recent appearances at Catholic education events by the pro-abortion governor of Massachusetts.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat who supports legal and publicly funded abortion and who has taken steps to make abortions easier to obtain, spoke at a fundraiser for The Catholic Schools Foundation, which raises money for Catholic schools in the archdiocese and helps poor students attend.
O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, is the chairman of the board of trustees of the foundation, though he was in Rome at the time of the gala and did not attend it.
Healey also recently visited a Catholic school north of Boston, speaking to students and answering questions.
C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, called Healey’s appearances “a grave scandal.”
“Cardinal O’Malley should be ashamed of himself. Is Maura Healey an inspiring role model for Catholic students?” Doyle said.
Thomas Harvey, chairman of the Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortions, called including Healey at the Catholic events “really disgraceful,” and he placed the blame on O’Malley.
“Maura Healey is a huge proponent of killing babies in the womb, in direct defiance of Catholic teaching, and yet here she is being presented to impressionable Catholic students as if she were a Catholic role model,” Harvey told the Register by text. “And the clear message being sent to Catholic students here is that killing babies in the womb is just not that big a deal.”
In June 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a document called “Catholics in Public Life,” which states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, pointed out that Healey was not an honoree at the gala or during her earlier appearance at the Catholic school.
Since Healey is the governor of the state, Donilon said, Cardinal O’Malley has worked with her “on a number of issues important to Catholics and the wider community,” including public funding for the archdiocese’s charitable work providing “basic needs assistance, job training, child care services, and immigration and refugee assistance to thousands of residents,” as well as building “badly needed affordable housing” and trying “to stem gun violence.”
“At the same time, the cardinal has been a leader in the pro-life movement for over 50 years and his commitment in being a staunch promoter of life is well known and unwavering,” Donilon said.
O’Malley, 79, a Capuchin Franciscan, has frequently attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and has spoken at pro-life rallies. Last week, The Boston Globe published a column by O’Malley urging state legislators to oppose a bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide.
But critics such as Doyle claim that O’Malley during his time as archbishop has seemed to mix easily and uncritically with abortion-supporting Catholic politicians, including the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (whose funeral Mass he celebrated), the late Boston mayor Thomas Menino, former Boston mayor Marty Walsh, and the current governor, Healey, with whom he co-authored a column in The Boston Globe in September 2017 on immigration.
Donilon, O’Malley’s spokesman, addressing Healey’s participation in The Catholic Schools Foundation gala last week, said that “the governor has been a vocal supporter of Catholic education. … Our Catholic schools save cities and towns hundreds of millions of dollars in education costs. Our families benefit from an outstanding education based in an excellent faith-based environment.”
Gov. Maura Healey speaks to students at St. John’s Prep on April 9, 2024. Credit: Screenshot of St. John’s Prep Facebook page last visited on April 9, 2024.
Who is Maura Healey?
Healey, 53, was elected Massachusetts attorney general in 2014 with an endorsement from Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund. She served two terms as attorney general before being elected governor of Massachusetts in November 2022.
As an elected official, Healey has frequently supported public policies that clash with Catholic teachings on life and sexuality.
She has verbally attacked pro-life pregnancy centers, steered state government money to private abortion funds, and, in April 2023, quietly arranged for the flagship campus of the state-run University of Massachusetts to purchase 15,000 doses of abortion pills.
Healey’s administration in June 2023 successfully proposed a curriculum framework for public schools that calls for teaching between third and fifth grades “the differences between biological sex and gender identity” and “how one’s outward behavior and appearance does not define one’s gender identity or sexual orientation.”
Healey appeared Thursday, April 11, at the annual gala of The Catholic Schools Foundation at a hotel in Boston.
“So I didn’t have the benefit of going to Catholic school,” Healey said, according to a text of her remarks provided by a spokesman. “My mom went to Catholic school, and my nephew goes to Catholic school; we have priest[s] at the dinner table every Sunday. But I do know, both having been your attorney general and now as your governor, what your work means. And I can see that experience firsthand.”
She also said she wants to find ways “to partner” with the foundation “in the important work that you [are] doing.”
“And I want you to know that, as governor, I value our vibrant mix of education, our public schools, our private schools, and our religious schools,” Healey said.
Two days earlier, on Tuesday, April 9, Healey spent about 50 minutes with a group of 120 students at St. John’s Preparatory High School, a Catholic boys’ school founded by the Xaverian Brothers in Danvers, about 18 miles northeast of Boston, according to a description of the visit published on the school’s website. The school is in the Archdiocese of Boston, though it is not run by the archdiocese.
Healey had never visited the school before, “but it was quickly clear her personal values are closely aligned with those of the Xaverian Brothers,” the school’s write-up states.
Healey emphasized leadership and empathy during her remarks. The governor also told the students that while she believes in civil discourse, “there are some basic values that have kept our society intact,” and she told students they should “call out hate when you see it.”
“We can have differences of opinion on things,” Healey said, according to the school’s write-up, “but, to me, equality has got to abide. Respect for the dignity and worth of each person is something I call on people to really adhere to.”
Robert Joyce, a lawyer and member of the board of the Pro-Life Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal representation for pro-lifers, said that St. John’s Prep last fall turned down an offer he made to provide a pro-life assembly for students featuring a canon lawyer, a physician, and a vocations director. (The head of school, Edward Hardiman, did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.)
Joyce called Healey’s recent appearances at the gala and at the school “abominations for Catholic education.”
“They send the clear message to Catholic students and parents that critical, fundamental precepts of the Catholic faith are not all that important. In simple terms, they declare that protection of innocent unborn life and the defense of traditional marriage are negotiable with these Catholic educators,” Joyce indicated.
Healey is also a featured speaker at the annual Spring Celebration of Catholic Charities Boston scheduled for Wednesday, May 29, at the Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston. O’Malley is expected to receive an award at the event for his work in welcoming immigrants.
Healey and the Catholic Church
Healey does not often talk about religion in public, but she occasionally identifies herself as a Catholic.
In October 2018, when she was state attorney general, she led off a brief column in The Boston Globe with the words: “As a member of law enforcement and as a Catholic …”
In April 2022, when Healey criticized Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester for calling for a Catholic school to take down a rainbow flag, she added, according to MassLive.com: “And I speak as a Catholic …”
In October 2022, during a debate while she was running for governor, Healey used a Catholic reference while defending herself from a claim by her Republican opponent that a bill she had supported effectively legalized infanticide, as the National Catholic Register subsequently reported. “You know, my mom goes to Mass every morning,” Healey said.
Healey is widely thought of as a potential candidate for other offices. She would be an obvious Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts if either of the two incumbents (both in their 70s) leaves office.
Additionally, just hours before her appearance at The Catholic Schools Foundation gala, Healey participated in an event at Northeastern University in Boston honoring former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. The moderator floated Healey as a potential future candidate for president of the United States, to applause from the audience.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.
Washington D.C., Oct 22, 2019 / 05:19 pm (CNA).- The U.S. Secretary of State listed promoting international religious freedom and fighting abortion as among U.S. foreign policy priorities in a Tuesday speech on diplomacy.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 14, 2021 / 08:10 am (CNA).
Priests of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 may not minister to the sick, elderly, and homebound, Bishop John… […]
19 Comments
Okay, this is great, but the time for talk is long past. It is time for this to move beyond theoretical discussion. An actual politician needs to be excommunicated by an actual sitting diocesan bishop. Otherwise, the statement has little credibility. Which bishop will be first to take action?
Sound observation, Andrew. At this time, the most recent public statements of Biden and Pelosi et al. are starkly in contrast to Catholic Teaching. As such, the ongoing delays in taking strong action against such politicians are remarkably even less justifiable than they were before when they should have already been taken. Among many such approaches, I suggest something along the following:
The very first thing that should be done ASAP is for Abp. Cordileone to instruct all parish pastors under his jurisdiction to immediately refuse to give Communion to Pelosi (he still has not shown the courage to do this, I believe, which is long overdue) and any other offending politician, and to also have each pastor publish in the parish bulletin the bishop’s clear statement to this effect with the rationale behind it. Also, a copy of the main points of Cordileone’s statement should be posted prominently on some walls and/or doors at various locations within their churches for all parishioners/visitors to clearly see it, and also serve to advise any known reprobate politician of what they can expect at that church. The statement can also include an invitation to the reprobates to make an appointment with the parish pastor (perhaps better yet, the bishop) to receive the proper catechesis with an explanation as to why any nonsense like “personally opposed but” is not acceptable.
Next, Cordileone should strongly advocate that all of his fellow bishops adopt the same policy throughout the US, and work more forcefully toward getting some fellow bishops to support the effort and, more importantly, ACT in a similar manner. Following almost immediately on this should be the development of a policy (aided by sound canon lawyers) which makes it crystal clear that any currently elected politician who continues to advocate for abortion after having been denied Communion and does not publicly change their views will be excommunicated within no more than 6 weeks from the first date the denial of Communion goes into effect. This is more than enough time for the politician to examine his/her conscience, seek the catechesis, and so on.
More details, requirements, etc. addressing various situations can of course be worked out as needed, but the denial of Communion must begin ASAP along with the establishment of a policy of excommunication for any politician who continues to publicly defy Church teaching.
This issue is and has been a Thomas More moment and long since past it’s time of action as this commenter states. I truly believe the Church(and other Christian denominations), Jews included should have stopped all of this after Roe.
So many speak of America as the bed rock of freedom and opportunity. Where were they when these millions of lives were extinguished for what ?
The rhetoric now is just that. Appreciate the Archbishop for the letter, but not enough
I agree with the previous commenter. The time for talk is over. The sides have been drawn and the Cardinal is not about to persuade anyone who wasn’t already pro life to become pro life. Biden, Pelosi, and the others need to be excommunicated. And that needs to happen now. How do I teach my children that abortion is a mortal sin and an abomination in God’s eyes when the Catholic Bishops allow these pro abortion and pro sodomy “Catholic” politicians to receive Holy Communion? And how do I teach my children that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of God Himself when the Catholic Bishops allow these pro abortion and pro sodomy “Catholic” politicians to receive Holy Communion?
Biden and Pelosi both claim to be practising Catholics. Yet each of them openly supports and promotes abortion, and indeed other positions contrary to Catholic teaching.
Their position is a direct and sustained public challenge by them to the Church, of which they claim to be loyal members. It would in my opinion be reasonable to excommunicate them. This would send a powerful message to all catholics and more widely throughout the world. The Church has to be a sign of contradiction to the world – it should not conform to the world. It should not be afraid to take a stand on this issue. We should not be afraid! Let’s do it.
The time for talk is over now and has been for a long time – with Catholics like most of us. But – we are dealing with a majority of people ‘catholic’ (small c) and non-catholic for whom the taking of helpless human lives in the womb is not a big deal.
Step by step – The Texas ruling being the most recent. Both Biden and Pelosi are over the roof about it, which is to be expected – to the extent that they can be ignored because their reactions are so completely predictable. The ‘press’ is (predictably) taking sides with them, saying that this proves that Catholics are really divided about this and only those like Nan & Joey are forward thinkers who can be trusted about it.
BUT
With every passing day, less and less ‘Catholics’ can really support it with a straight face, and I believe that the day is coming closer when a Bishop will publicly excommunicate a ‘Catholic’ politician who publicly supports abortion.
Congresswoman Pelosi is probably shaking in her boots, and she should be.
Compared to LGBT abortion is the greater evil because it’s killing of the innocent. It’s the world’s greatest crime. Many who support it politically in Congress or by individual vote are morally complicit. Archbishop Cordileone is himself morally obliged to act. As said previously regarding Vatican reengineering of the original USCCB agenda to address the issue and sanction, then sandbagged by CDF prefect Cardinal Ladaria at the Pope’s bidding. What was produced an insignificant letter to the faithful of what’s contained in the Catechism. Bishops are Apostolic defenders of the faith. There’s no justification to refrain from their duty. And like the good shepherd guide misled souls from the precipice. From condemnation at judgment. Malaise is not limited to sins by laity. When there’s so much at stake talking of morality has virtually no effect on the support given abortion by Catholics. A few have acted as bishops. All others not simply should, they must act.
I think it is one thing for a Catholic politician to argue he has an obligation uphold the law of the US irrespective of his personal beliefs. Its another to have a tantrum over a Supreme Court ruling upholding a law which would limit ( but not completely prevent) abortion and say you are going to make a full court press to overturn the ruling and make abortion as freely available as possible. Its more than a little disgusting and certainly against Catholic teaching. Its past time for these Bishops and Cardinals to stop talking and ACT. Pretending these offending politicians are not giving public scandal is not fooling anyone.
Curious about how long Pelosi has held the pro-choice “Catholic” view, I searched and found an NCReporter interview from 2002. Notable among other quotes was this by Pelosi:
“The divinity in me bows to the divinity in you.” Any theologian want to comment???
There was also this question put to Pelosi: “Is it more difficult today to be a pro-choice Catholic then it was, say, ten years ago?” [NOTE: She had been a member of Congress since 1988; the interviewer was asking about 1992…]
A [Pelosi]: “It’s about the same….
“I have never in my district in California, in my archdiocese…if I was going to [be allowed to] receive communion; I never knew if this was the day it would be withheld. And that’s a hard way to go to church. Fortunately, I’m invited — I have a big family — I go to a lot of weddings, I’m in a different church every week. I’m a moving target. I travel, so I’m not exactly a target in terms of always being in the same church, although I go to St. Vincent DePaul, which is my neighborhood parish.
“In addition to that, on many occasions the archdiocese has told the nuns that I couldn’t be the speaker at some event. And that’s hurtful because we have so much in common. But it’s the decision the church has made.”
The decisions Pelosi has made at the intersection of her faith and her politics are her own. If she were to think with the Church, with God’s commandments, and with common sense, she would put herself in penitential stock for whatever days remain in her natural life.
Ms. Pelosi has been in Congress since 1988 and has apparently held her pro-abortion “Catholic” view for all this time.
Question for the Bishop: HOW MUCH LONGER WILL Nancy BE ALLOWED TO CAUSE SCANDAL, SHAME, AND DISGRACEFUL PAIN to the Body of Christ? HOW MUCH LONGER WILL Nancy BE ALLOWED to PUT HER OWN and many another’s ETERNAL LIFE/SALVATION AT GRAVE RISK? Will you wait another 33 years???
I’m not a Canon Lawyer myself (just the regular civil kind) so anyone comments from those more knowledgeable than me on this subject would be appreciated.
Canonist Peters is indeed a fine canon lawyer who at times uses the fallacy of credentialism as a hammer to dismiss legitimate possibilities of canon law interpretations/applications that differ from his, especially if such possibilities are raised by those who are not canon lawyers. In this he frequently resembles those “experts” of the past who rhetorically asked “is this not the carpenter’s son”? Still, he has a well-deserved reputation as a legitimate voice of canon law interpretation that should always be taken seriously and honestly engaged. However, many people look to Peters as if he has a gift of canon law interpretation infallibility, and so his views on certain Church matters involving canon law are all too often considered the final word on such things. This is, of course, not the case, and Peters does not make this claim, plus at times he will state that his interpretation of this or that law or application may not be correct. This prudent humility is most welcome in the following section from one of the articles cited above:
“Canon 1369 authorizes a ‘just penalty’ against those who violate its terms. That broad (but not unlimited) phrase ‘just penalty’ allows for tailoring the canonical consequences in specific cases to the wide variety of fact patterns that could be addressed in its light, here, everything from Cuomo’s speeches and comments in support of this abortion law to his ordering a ghoulish light show in celebration of its enactment. That said, while the notion of a ‘just penalty’ is broad, there is some question as to whether it extends, at least immediately, to excommunication. Here is not the place to air that technical issue, but neither should its presence derail consideration of using Canon 1369 against Cuomo. Some justice is better than no justice and even if (I say, if) excommunication could not be imposed immediately on Cuomo, the Church could still impose some canonical sanctions for his conduct. If, moreover, such sanctions as could be imposed per Canon 1369 were ignored by Cuomo, Canon 1393 would allow for their augmentation, making the possibility of a ‘just penalty’ reaching to excommunication stronger.”
So instead of declaring that canon law as it stands does not permit excommunication for politicians like Cuomo, Peters acknowledges the possibility of excommunication in the interpretation and application of Canon 1369 and/or Canon 1393 against Gov. Cuomo. Accordingly, the possibility of also “reaching excommunication” in the cases of Pelosi, Biden, and others who continue to act in defiance of Church doctrine seems equally reasonable if not more so based on the public stances of these people that include, at least in the case of Biden, openly declaring his opposition to Church teaching that life begins at conception. No faithful Catholic can maintain this erroneous position, and those who do also at least tacitly deny some related Church teachings, including the infallible teaching of the Immaculate Conception (it is not the Immaculate Transplantation, nor is it the Immaculate Birth, and even before modern science demonstrated that life begins at conception, we see once again the Church ahead of its time in declaring an infallible doctrine in 1854 that also underscores when life begins). What’s the point of honoring/celebrating the conception of the Blessed Virgin if she wasn’t even alive according to the heretical beliefs of Biden and others of a similar mindset?
As I set forth in my previous comment, I favor the immediate withholding of Communion from openly reprobate politicians, and then excommunication in due course for those who remain openly hostile to the Church’s teaching in this regard. Even if some canonical hoops have to be jumped through to get to excommunication, such jumping should be done in defense of the Faith.
Long, long past time for this to be done, not merely discussed. One is left to wonder what the eternal consequence is for an episcopate which refuses to admonish the sinner as a result of its own self interest.
Stop “agonizing.”
Do it.
The good archbishop better excommunicate these politician(s) before he submitts his required retirement because this pope (if still in) will accept his retiremnet within minutes.
Texas abortion “law” is far from a pro-life idea. Roe is still “settled law”. Hence, Texas “law” remains unconstitutional until we re-write it to the Hyde Amendment concept. Texas “law” also removes rape or incest and illegally arms the citizenry to act like vigilantes/bounty hunters allowing anyone to file a lawsuit for observing an attempt at abortion. That would more than likely flood the courts with cases.
Anyone openly wearing abortion-on-demand on their sleeve should also be excommunicated. As always, it would be hard to invoke.
Pray to Jesus for guidance on the most egress of mortal sins.
I’m with Terence McManus above. I think Abp. Cordileone is addressing all Catholics, not just Biden and Pelosi and co., all Americans, in fact. He is very articulate and very courageous. To go into the Washington Post is to go into the lion’s den. (Hey). I give him a lot of credit.
Abortion is in deed a terrible thing. And so is sexual abuse of minors. Why does abortion receive so much attention and sexual abuse is swept under the rug? Why are the unborn more important than the already born? Just asking.
3 years after the fact – I just remembered back in 2008 when Obama chose Biden as his VP – in his announcement he said Joe is a “practicing Catholic” in a clear attempt at the ‘Catholic’ vote. Joe said sanctimoniously that he “opposes abortion but would never impose his beliefs on others”, which sounded good to the gum-chewing public.
I for one would never ask him to ‘impose’ what he calls his ‘beliefs’ on others, but I WOULD expect him to DEFEND them.
Okay, this is great, but the time for talk is long past. It is time for this to move beyond theoretical discussion. An actual politician needs to be excommunicated by an actual sitting diocesan bishop. Otherwise, the statement has little credibility. Which bishop will be first to take action?
Sound observation, Andrew. At this time, the most recent public statements of Biden and Pelosi et al. are starkly in contrast to Catholic Teaching. As such, the ongoing delays in taking strong action against such politicians are remarkably even less justifiable than they were before when they should have already been taken. Among many such approaches, I suggest something along the following:
The very first thing that should be done ASAP is for Abp. Cordileone to instruct all parish pastors under his jurisdiction to immediately refuse to give Communion to Pelosi (he still has not shown the courage to do this, I believe, which is long overdue) and any other offending politician, and to also have each pastor publish in the parish bulletin the bishop’s clear statement to this effect with the rationale behind it. Also, a copy of the main points of Cordileone’s statement should be posted prominently on some walls and/or doors at various locations within their churches for all parishioners/visitors to clearly see it, and also serve to advise any known reprobate politician of what they can expect at that church. The statement can also include an invitation to the reprobates to make an appointment with the parish pastor (perhaps better yet, the bishop) to receive the proper catechesis with an explanation as to why any nonsense like “personally opposed but” is not acceptable.
Next, Cordileone should strongly advocate that all of his fellow bishops adopt the same policy throughout the US, and work more forcefully toward getting some fellow bishops to support the effort and, more importantly, ACT in a similar manner. Following almost immediately on this should be the development of a policy (aided by sound canon lawyers) which makes it crystal clear that any currently elected politician who continues to advocate for abortion after having been denied Communion and does not publicly change their views will be excommunicated within no more than 6 weeks from the first date the denial of Communion goes into effect. This is more than enough time for the politician to examine his/her conscience, seek the catechesis, and so on.
More details, requirements, etc. addressing various situations can of course be worked out as needed, but the denial of Communion must begin ASAP along with the establishment of a policy of excommunication for any politician who continues to publicly defy Church teaching.
This issue is and has been a Thomas More moment and long since past it’s time of action as this commenter states. I truly believe the Church(and other Christian denominations), Jews included should have stopped all of this after Roe.
So many speak of America as the bed rock of freedom and opportunity. Where were they when these millions of lives were extinguished for what ?
The rhetoric now is just that. Appreciate the Archbishop for the letter, but not enough
I agree with the previous commenter. The time for talk is over. The sides have been drawn and the Cardinal is not about to persuade anyone who wasn’t already pro life to become pro life. Biden, Pelosi, and the others need to be excommunicated. And that needs to happen now. How do I teach my children that abortion is a mortal sin and an abomination in God’s eyes when the Catholic Bishops allow these pro abortion and pro sodomy “Catholic” politicians to receive Holy Communion? And how do I teach my children that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of God Himself when the Catholic Bishops allow these pro abortion and pro sodomy “Catholic” politicians to receive Holy Communion?
Cordileone is not a Cardinal. He will never be made one under the current Pontiff.
Biden and Pelosi both claim to be practising Catholics. Yet each of them openly supports and promotes abortion, and indeed other positions contrary to Catholic teaching.
Their position is a direct and sustained public challenge by them to the Church, of which they claim to be loyal members. It would in my opinion be reasonable to excommunicate them. This would send a powerful message to all catholics and more widely throughout the world. The Church has to be a sign of contradiction to the world – it should not conform to the world. It should not be afraid to take a stand on this issue. We should not be afraid! Let’s do it.
The time for talk is over now and has been for a long time – with Catholics like most of us. But – we are dealing with a majority of people ‘catholic’ (small c) and non-catholic for whom the taking of helpless human lives in the womb is not a big deal.
Step by step – The Texas ruling being the most recent. Both Biden and Pelosi are over the roof about it, which is to be expected – to the extent that they can be ignored because their reactions are so completely predictable. The ‘press’ is (predictably) taking sides with them, saying that this proves that Catholics are really divided about this and only those like Nan & Joey are forward thinkers who can be trusted about it.
BUT
With every passing day, less and less ‘Catholics’ can really support it with a straight face, and I believe that the day is coming closer when a Bishop will publicly excommunicate a ‘Catholic’ politician who publicly supports abortion.
Congresswoman Pelosi is probably shaking in her boots, and she should be.
She needs our prayers.
Compared to LGBT abortion is the greater evil because it’s killing of the innocent. It’s the world’s greatest crime. Many who support it politically in Congress or by individual vote are morally complicit. Archbishop Cordileone is himself morally obliged to act. As said previously regarding Vatican reengineering of the original USCCB agenda to address the issue and sanction, then sandbagged by CDF prefect Cardinal Ladaria at the Pope’s bidding. What was produced an insignificant letter to the faithful of what’s contained in the Catechism. Bishops are Apostolic defenders of the faith. There’s no justification to refrain from their duty. And like the good shepherd guide misled souls from the precipice. From condemnation at judgment. Malaise is not limited to sins by laity. When there’s so much at stake talking of morality has virtually no effect on the support given abortion by Catholics. A few have acted as bishops. All others not simply should, they must act.
I think Abp. Cordileone is not speaking only to Biden and Pelosi and co.
And kudos to him (again).
I think it is one thing for a Catholic politician to argue he has an obligation uphold the law of the US irrespective of his personal beliefs. Its another to have a tantrum over a Supreme Court ruling upholding a law which would limit ( but not completely prevent) abortion and say you are going to make a full court press to overturn the ruling and make abortion as freely available as possible. Its more than a little disgusting and certainly against Catholic teaching. Its past time for these Bishops and Cardinals to stop talking and ACT. Pretending these offending politicians are not giving public scandal is not fooling anyone.
Curious about how long Pelosi has held the pro-choice “Catholic” view, I searched and found an NCReporter interview from 2002. Notable among other quotes was this by Pelosi:
“The divinity in me bows to the divinity in you.” Any theologian want to comment???
There was also this question put to Pelosi: “Is it more difficult today to be a pro-choice Catholic then it was, say, ten years ago?” [NOTE: She had been a member of Congress since 1988; the interviewer was asking about 1992…]
A [Pelosi]: “It’s about the same….
“I have never in my district in California, in my archdiocese…if I was going to [be allowed to] receive communion; I never knew if this was the day it would be withheld. And that’s a hard way to go to church. Fortunately, I’m invited — I have a big family — I go to a lot of weddings, I’m in a different church every week. I’m a moving target. I travel, so I’m not exactly a target in terms of always being in the same church, although I go to St. Vincent DePaul, which is my neighborhood parish.
“In addition to that, on many occasions the archdiocese has told the nuns that I couldn’t be the speaker at some event. And that’s hurtful because we have so much in common. But it’s the decision the church has made.”
The decisions Pelosi has made at the intersection of her faith and her politics are her own. If she were to think with the Church, with God’s commandments, and with common sense, she would put herself in penitential stock for whatever days remain in her natural life.
Ms. Pelosi has been in Congress since 1988 and has apparently held her pro-abortion “Catholic” view for all this time.
Question for the Bishop: HOW MUCH LONGER WILL Nancy BE ALLOWED TO CAUSE SCANDAL, SHAME, AND DISGRACEFUL PAIN to the Body of Christ? HOW MUCH LONGER WILL Nancy BE ALLOWED to PUT HER OWN and many another’s ETERNAL LIFE/SALVATION AT GRAVE RISK? Will you wait another 33 years???
I’m not against excommunicating pro-infanticide “Catholic” politicians. But the question is whether they can be excommunicated? Canonist Edward Peters wrote several essays (many of them published on this very site) stating that Canon Law as it stands does not provide for excommunicating pro-aborts.
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/01/24/thoughts-on-ecclesiastical-consequences-for-gov-cuomos-pro-abortion-acts/
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/02/07/its-not-fair-but-does-he-deserve-it/
I’m not a Canon Lawyer myself (just the regular civil kind) so anyone comments from those more knowledgeable than me on this subject would be appreciated.
Response to Johann du Toit:
Canonist Peters is indeed a fine canon lawyer who at times uses the fallacy of credentialism as a hammer to dismiss legitimate possibilities of canon law interpretations/applications that differ from his, especially if such possibilities are raised by those who are not canon lawyers. In this he frequently resembles those “experts” of the past who rhetorically asked “is this not the carpenter’s son”? Still, he has a well-deserved reputation as a legitimate voice of canon law interpretation that should always be taken seriously and honestly engaged. However, many people look to Peters as if he has a gift of canon law interpretation infallibility, and so his views on certain Church matters involving canon law are all too often considered the final word on such things. This is, of course, not the case, and Peters does not make this claim, plus at times he will state that his interpretation of this or that law or application may not be correct. This prudent humility is most welcome in the following section from one of the articles cited above:
“Canon 1369 authorizes a ‘just penalty’ against those who violate its terms. That broad (but not unlimited) phrase ‘just penalty’ allows for tailoring the canonical consequences in specific cases to the wide variety of fact patterns that could be addressed in its light, here, everything from Cuomo’s speeches and comments in support of this abortion law to his ordering a ghoulish light show in celebration of its enactment. That said, while the notion of a ‘just penalty’ is broad, there is some question as to whether it extends, at least immediately, to excommunication. Here is not the place to air that technical issue, but neither should its presence derail consideration of using Canon 1369 against Cuomo. Some justice is better than no justice and even if (I say, if) excommunication could not be imposed immediately on Cuomo, the Church could still impose some canonical sanctions for his conduct. If, moreover, such sanctions as could be imposed per Canon 1369 were ignored by Cuomo, Canon 1393 would allow for their augmentation, making the possibility of a ‘just penalty’ reaching to excommunication stronger.”
So instead of declaring that canon law as it stands does not permit excommunication for politicians like Cuomo, Peters acknowledges the possibility of excommunication in the interpretation and application of Canon 1369 and/or Canon 1393 against Gov. Cuomo. Accordingly, the possibility of also “reaching excommunication” in the cases of Pelosi, Biden, and others who continue to act in defiance of Church doctrine seems equally reasonable if not more so based on the public stances of these people that include, at least in the case of Biden, openly declaring his opposition to Church teaching that life begins at conception. No faithful Catholic can maintain this erroneous position, and those who do also at least tacitly deny some related Church teachings, including the infallible teaching of the Immaculate Conception (it is not the Immaculate Transplantation, nor is it the Immaculate Birth, and even before modern science demonstrated that life begins at conception, we see once again the Church ahead of its time in declaring an infallible doctrine in 1854 that also underscores when life begins). What’s the point of honoring/celebrating the conception of the Blessed Virgin if she wasn’t even alive according to the heretical beliefs of Biden and others of a similar mindset?
As I set forth in my previous comment, I favor the immediate withholding of Communion from openly reprobate politicians, and then excommunication in due course for those who remain openly hostile to the Church’s teaching in this regard. Even if some canonical hoops have to be jumped through to get to excommunication, such jumping should be done in defense of the Faith.
Long, long past time for this to be done, not merely discussed. One is left to wonder what the eternal consequence is for an episcopate which refuses to admonish the sinner as a result of its own self interest.
Stop “agonizing.”
Do it.
The good archbishop better excommunicate these politician(s) before he submitts his required retirement because this pope (if still in) will accept his retiremnet within minutes.
Texas abortion “law” is far from a pro-life idea. Roe is still “settled law”. Hence, Texas “law” remains unconstitutional until we re-write it to the Hyde Amendment concept. Texas “law” also removes rape or incest and illegally arms the citizenry to act like vigilantes/bounty hunters allowing anyone to file a lawsuit for observing an attempt at abortion. That would more than likely flood the courts with cases.
Anyone openly wearing abortion-on-demand on their sleeve should also be excommunicated. As always, it would be hard to invoke.
Pray to Jesus for guidance on the most egress of mortal sins.
I’m with Terence McManus above. I think Abp. Cordileone is addressing all Catholics, not just Biden and Pelosi and co., all Americans, in fact. He is very articulate and very courageous. To go into the Washington Post is to go into the lion’s den. (Hey). I give him a lot of credit.
Abortion is in deed a terrible thing. And so is sexual abuse of minors. Why does abortion receive so much attention and sexual abuse is swept under the rug? Why are the unborn more important than the already born? Just asking.
3 years after the fact – I just remembered back in 2008 when Obama chose Biden as his VP – in his announcement he said Joe is a “practicing Catholic” in a clear attempt at the ‘Catholic’ vote. Joe said sanctimoniously that he “opposes abortion but would never impose his beliefs on others”, which sounded good to the gum-chewing public.
I for one would never ask him to ‘impose’ what he calls his ‘beliefs’ on others, but I WOULD expect him to DEFEND them.