With her consistent pro-abortion voting record, Nancy Pelosi has distinguished herself as one of the most high-profile, hypocritical Catholics in the nation. She has now added to her legacy by rebuking an archbishop for his support of true marriage.
Although claiming to be a “devout” Catholic, Rep. Pelosi has in the past received a 100 percent rating from the pro-abortion group NARAL while receiving a rating of 0 percent from the pro-life group NRLC. It’s hard to do worse than that.
She also (in)famously commented that “as an ardent, practicing Catholic,” she had studied the question of abortion “for a long time,” claiming that “the doctors of the Church have not been able to determine” when life began, adding that “it shouldn’t have an impact on the woman’s right to choose.”
In response, Catholic activist Bill Donahue said, “I don’t know what the woman’s motive is. Let’s just assume it’s stupidity. I’d still oblige her to hold a press conference saying she misrepresented the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
When Father Frank Pavone, founder of Priests for Life, challenged her on her pro-abortion views, “Pelosi said she thought Father Pavone was being ‘hysterical,’ saying, ‘The arrogance of it all! It’s like something ancient, medieval.’ She also said that while she understands what the Catholic Church teaches on abortion, ‘my faith isn’t about what their position is.'”
In this same spirit, the former speaker of the House has now taken on San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, urging him not to participate in a pro-marriage march scheduled for June 19 in Washington, D.C. She called the March for Marriage “venom masquerading as virtue,” claiming that some of those participating show “disdain and hate towards LGBT persons.”
Of course, things have become so twisted in our society today that simply stating that marriage is the union of one man and woman is branded “disdain and hate towards LGBT persons.” After all, it can only be hatred toward homosexuals that would motivate anyone to oppose the radical redefinition of marriage. (Sarcasm intended.)
That being said, given her track record, it’s no surprise Ms. Pelosi has embraced the gay-activist mindset and employed the intolerant rhetoric of the hour. But does she actually think that she can lecture a Catholic archbishop?
It is for good reason that Townhall journalist Christine Rousselle exclaimed, “I’m astounded by Pelosi’s ego in thinking that she can instruct an archbishop on matters related to the faith. She has no right to tell an official in a religion she purports to follow how to act on matters that are in line with actual Church teaching.”
Rousselle also pointed out that, “prior to his election as bishop of Rome, Pope Francis was a leading critic of same-sex marriage in Argentina, referring to the practice as the work of the ‘Father of Lies.'”
While still serving as a cardinal in Argentina, this pope who is so loved by the liberal crowd said, “Let’s not be naïve, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”
Perhaps Pelosi needs to lecture the pope. (She also misunderstood his comments about not judging someone who is gay, by which he meant not condemning them; he was not affirming same-sex relationships or sexual acts.)
As for Archbishop Cordileone, he responded to the criticism from a number of California politicians with an unapologetic, clear-headed, yet conciliatory answer.
He explained that the march was “not anti-anyone or anti-anything,” stating that “it is a pro-marriage march,” thereby affirming “the great good of bringing the two halves of humanity together so that a man and a woman may bond with each other and with any children who come from their union.”
He cited the pope’s April 11 comment that, “We must reaffirm the right of children to grow up in a family with a father and mother,” and noted, “Simply for taking a stand for marriage as it has been understood in every human society for millennia, people have lost their jobs, lost their livelihoods, and have suffered other types of retribution, including physical violence.”
Archbishop Cordileone also called for the building of personal relationships and dialogues in the midst of these deep, societal differences, stating that, “It is the personal encounter that changes the vision of the other and softens the heart. In the end, love is the answer, and this can happen even between people with such deep disagreements.”
Not every Catholic leader responded with such charity. Bill Donahue singled out Pelosi’s comments as an example of “unmitigated arrogance,” adding, “Rep. Nancy Pelosi does not simply reject the Catholic Church’s teachings on marriage, abortion and contraception – she is a rabid foe of the Church’s positions.” (I have no argument with this assessment.)
But Donahue, who is the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and holds a Ph.D. in sociology from New York University, had one final salvo to launch: “When gays go naked in the streets of San Francisco, and mock Catholicism in patently obscene ways, Pelosi is never offended. What offends her is her archbishop’s public defense of the Church’s teachings on marriage. Nice to know what her moral compass looks like.”
It would appear, though, that many Catholics in America have gone soft on these issues as well, siding with the spirit of the age rather than the teachings of the Catholic Church. Yet it is unlikely that most of them identify themselves as “devout” practitioners of the faith, as Pelosi does.
And so, even as a non-Catholic, I can easily call a spade a spade, and there is no other word for Rep. Pelosi’s faith than hypocrisy, and of the highest order at that.
