In a new interview, Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who oversees House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home diocese, the Archdiocese of San Francisco, slammed the Biden administration for supporting the abortion “bloodbath” and discussed if pro-abortion politicians should receive Holy Communion.
In the interview with America Magazine, Cordileone started off by responding to Biden’s claims that he is “personally pro-life,” though his track record shows strong support for pro-abortion policies.
“That was his position at one time. It’s not what it is now,” Cordileone said in the interview. “He seems to be more guided by the Democratic Party than his Catholic faith on issues where we’re not in harmony.”
Cordileone pointed out recent remarks Biden made where he said he no longer believes that life begins at conception, which “is a problem for a couple of reasons,” Cordileone notes. “One is, it’s not a matter of religious belief when life begins. Science tells us life begins at conception. The church affirms that. So he is explicitly dissenting not only from church teaching but from sound science.”
In addition, Cordileone responded to the reports that Pope Francis told Biden that he’s a “good Catholic” and that he should “keep receiving Communion” in their recent meeting at the Vatican. Biden also claimed that the two didn’t discuss abortion during their meeting.
“We don’t know if the Pope really said that. The Vatican has neither affirmed nor denied it, but he may not have said that,” Cordileone explained.
“I tend to believe that the Pope didn’t say that, or at least exactly that,” he continued. “Many people in a position of leadership have had the experience that I’ve had, where often I say one thing and people hear something else. People tend to hear what they want to hear.”
Cordileone was then asked about Pelosi, and specifically, House Democrats’ pro-abortion legislation the “Women’s Health Protection Act” (WHPA) that would codify precedents set by Roe v. Wade into federal law. Cordileone previously called it “nothing more than child sacrifice,” to which Pelosi responded in a press conference saying that she and the archbishop “have a disagreement about who should decide this” and that she believes “God has given us a free will to honor our responsibilities,” as I covered.
“We’ve had conversations in the past, and she’s very respectful of me. I have to give her credit for that. She’s never defiant or mean-spirited. She’s always been very respectful. I think she’s a good example of how, when there are bitter disagreements, we can still converse civilly,” Cordileone said, mentioning that their disagreements have not been viewed as personal attacks on one another. “If someone disagrees with you, it becomes a personal attack on the other person. That has not been my experience with Speaker Pelosi.”
On the ongoing Communion debate, the archbishop notes that he thinks Biden assuming office sparked the conversation on if pro-abortion politicians should be allowed to recieve the sacrament of Communion. This month, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will convene in Baltimore to discuss a new teaching document on the Eucharist. Reports claim that the new teaching could prohibit pro-abortion politicians from recieving the sacrament.
“The media has certainly been politicizing it. They keep bringing up Biden and Pelosi. And the bishops were making the point that it’s not going to mention anyone by name, but it’s going to be a teaching document to clearly spell out these issues. Although, I have to admit with all honesty that it was the election of President Biden that really spurred this,” Cordileone said.
But, Pelosi and Biden aren’t the only Catholic politicians who may be barred from receiving Communion as a result of their unwavering support for abortion. This week, America Magazine published an article with Sen. Dick Durbin where he spoke on the fact that he has been unable to receive Communion at his home diocese since 2004 due to his pro-abortion voting record.
“It [the meeting] was way overdue. And now [having a] Catholic president who is so aggressive for abortion makes it very urgent,” Cordileone concluded. “It’s going to be a teaching document about the Eucharist as a gift to be celebrated and to be received and to be lived.”
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