Pelozi attended the morning Liturgy for the feasts of Saints Peter and Paul, during which Francis awarded the woolen cloth he stole from the newly consecrated archbishops. He was sitting in a VIP diplomatic section of the basilica and received Communion with the rest of his comrades, according to two people who saw the moment. The archbishop of his hometown of Pelosi, the archbishop of San Francisco Salvatore Cordilleone, has said he will no longer allow her to receive the sacrament at his archdiocese because of her support for abortion rights. Cordilleone, a conservative, has said that Pelosi must either deny her support for abortions or stop talking publicly about her universal faith. Pelosi did neither. He described the Supreme Court’s recent decision to lift constitutional protection against abortion as an “outrageous and heartbreaking” decision that fulfills the “dark and extreme goal of the Republican Party to abolish the right of women to make their own decisions about reproductive health.” ». And she has spoken openly and knowingly about the Catholic faith, including at a diplomatic reception at the US Embassy in the Holy See on Tuesday afternoon for Independence Day. Speaking to a number of ambassadors, Vatican officials and other Americans based in Rome, Pelosi spoke of the universal virtues of faith, hope and charity and the important role they play in the mission of the US Embassy. “Faith is an important gift, not everyone has it, but it is the way to so many other things,” he told the crowd. Pelosi met with Francis on the Wednesday before the Liturgy and received a blessing, according to one of those attending the Divine Liturgy. After the Mass, Pelosi visited the community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic charity near Francisco, where she met with refugees assisted by the group. At a $ 25,000 State Department-sponsored charity event, Pelosi quoted St. Francis of Assisi as saying the need to preach the gospel in action, not just words. “We had the pleasure of attending the Liturgy this morning with His Holiness and many, many church leaders,” Pelosi said. “In the spirit of St. Francis, which is the name of His Holiness and my San Francisco city, I thank you for preaching the Gospel, sometimes using words.” While Francis presided over the Liturgy, he did not distribute the Communion himself and Pelosi received the sacrament from one of the many priests who distributed it. From the time he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis seldom divided Communion, precisely to prevent the politicization of the mystery. Last year, President Joe Biden, another Catholic who also supports abortion rights, said after meeting with Francisco that the pope had told him to continue receiving the sacrament. Biden later received Communion during a Mass in a church in Rome under Francis as bishop of Rome. Pelosi’s reception of the sacrament in the Vatican during a Liturgy presided over by the Pope was even more important and a sign of Francis’ reluctance to deny the Society. Francis has described the Eucharist as “not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and food for the weak.” Asked by some U.S. bishops who wanted to deny Biden the sacrament, Francis told reporters during an air news conference in September that priests should not be politicians and condemn their flock, but be pastors accompanying them. the faithful with tenderness and compassion. The Vatican has not ruled on the specific issue of Society and the policies that support abortion in an important textbook, although the church’s internal canon law states that persons in a state of persistent sin should not be allowed to receive Communion. It has also issued guidelines for the conduct of Catholics in political life, urging them to adhere to principles consistent with ecclesiastical doctrine. The then head of the Vatican’s office, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – the future Pope Benedict XVI – told US bishops in 2004 that priests “should” deny the sacrament if a politician goes to receive Communion despite “persistent insistence on manifest grave sin. including the sin of the ongoing campaign for abortion laws. Ratzinger wrote a confidential letter describing the authorities to U.S. bishops in response to a question about whether they would deny Society to John Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president. In the end, the bishops ignored Ratzinger’s advice and instead voted for the current policy, which allows bishops to decide for themselves whether to reject it.
Paolo Santalucia and Alessandra Tarantino contributed.
