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Pope Francis Finally Weighs In on the Overturning of Roe v Wade
Faithful Catholics all over the US have been waiting to hear from Pope Francis on the recent SCOTUS decision on Dobbs and the overturn of Roe v Wade. Receiving a joyous and heartfelt message from the Pope would be a great gift to all those who have prayed and sacrificed and worked for this day.
However, it wasn’t what we expected. As one has heard, a picture tells a thousand words.
Pope Francis, greets Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her husband, Paul Pelosi before celebrating a Mass on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 29, 2022. Pelosi met with Pope Francis on Wednesday and received Communion during a papal Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, witnesses said, despite her position in support of abortion rights. (Vatican Media via AP)
For some reason, Nancy Pelosi, one of the most prominent pro-abortion Catholic politicians (and perhaps the face of the movement) just happened to be at the Vatican on June 29. According to this article, Pelosi met with Francis on Wednesday before the Mass and received a blessing, and then received Holy Communion at the papal mass in St. Peter’s on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. What a coincidence. And what a scandal. And what a slap in the face to Archbishop Cordileone who publicly reprimanded Mrs. Pelosi and forbade her from receiving Holy Communion until she publicly repents of her pro-abortion beliefs and activities.
CatholicVote President Brian Burch speaks to Fox News' @JesseBWatters about @SpeakerPelosi's latest scandal. pic.twitter.com/0Td3oT936h
— CatholicVote.org (@CatholicVote) June 30, 2022
Now some will say, Scott, you darn rigid restorationist you, you just hate Vatican II, and that is why you always bring up these Pope Francis scandals. How in the world can this merciful pope know everything there is to know about the USA?
Well, for one thing, he was aware of the horrific deaths of the illegal immigrants near San Antonio and sent out a tweet asking for prayers.
I sorrowfully heard the news of the tragedy of the #migrants in Texas and #Melilla. Let us #PrayTogether for these brothers and sisters who died following their hope of a better life; and for ourselves, may the Lord might open our hearts so these misfortunes never happen again.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 28, 2022
It is a monumental scandal that Pope Francis allows this to happen. From his homily at the mass:
Francis has strongly upheld the church’s opposition to abortion, and on Wednesday said church leaders must “continue to care for human life.” But in his homily, Francis also instructed the new archbishops to welcome everyone into the church, including sinners, and to not “remain pinned to some of our fruitless debates.”
“So many times we become a church with open doors, but only to send people away, to condemn them,” he said.
This is standard doublespeak for the pope. Yes, one welcomes sinners, but one also calls them to repentance. He says he is opposed to abortion – going so far as to call it murder, yet allows Holy Communion to be given to a manifest grave sinner such as Nancy Pelosi. Yes, the pope is a head of state, and must meet and greet all types, but he is first and foremost the Vicar of Christ (a title that he has erased) and a pastor of souls. As one said before, this is a monumental scandal. And Pelosi will run with it – she will continue to use these types of photos and the fact that “she received Holy Communion at a papal mass” to push for abortion.
I would be pleased if someone can point me somewhere to see that the pope has praised and celebrated the overturn of Roe v Wade. Yes, the gutted Pontifical Academy for Life issued a short statement, but it was very weak and bizarrely said nothing to simply condemn abortion unequivocally and celebrate the victory.
Instead of commending #SCOTUS for overturning #RoeVWade, the @PontAcadLife called for "reopen[ing] a non-ideological debate" about abortion. Why won't @PagliaAbp simply condemn abortion unequivocally and celebrate this victory?@MLJHaynes reports: https://t.co/ZXwzUBUUZ7
— Matt Gaspers (@MattGaspers) June 25, 2022
Perhaps one day popes and cardinals and archbishops will use their authority to crack down on these pro-abortion politicians in the US and fervently work to change their minds and save their souls. Until then, we will continue to see more of this:
The "devotedly" Catholic president is back at it @JoeBiden pic.twitter.com/iVCVtknB8N
— CatholicVote.org (@CatholicVote) June 30, 2022
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Published in Religion & Philosophy
Wait, did he make an actual statement, or was it just this scandalous Pelosi appearance?
No statement. Just the scandalous Pelosi appearance.
Which was an obvious statement. With a very clear message.
His actions spoke louder than his words could have.
Scott, is it time for the Faithful to take back the Church? Isn’t it the Catholic Faithful who are really the Church?
I’m not a practicing Catholic. I also don’t like what I’ve seen and heard about of Pope Francis and the Latin Mass for one or two reasons.
But here’s what I think: I think if you people don’t want your Crisis Pregnancy Centers to continue to be set ablaze (so that they aren’t available to help those unborn children and the mothers who carry them) and if you don’t want an increase in your churches being vandalized, you’ll understand Pope Francis being quiet about the end of Roe v.Wade and cooperative about giving this evil and dangerous hag her blessing, Photo-op, V.I.P. seat and wafer. (Remember Kneeling Nancy during the George Floyd riots ?)
I think it’s possible—-No. I think it’s likely—-that both Pelosi and Pope Francis know she’s in a position of power in what amounts to a hostage situation.
Instead of running down Pope Francis (over this particular situation, I mean) is there some way ordinary Catholics can give some kind of moral or social support to Archbishop Cordileone and economic support to crisis pregnancy centers?
Hey, I’ll have an extra $ 70 in August without my spouse squawking too much. Can anyone suggest a crisis pregnancy center to which I can donate it ?
The Truth is I didn’t want to be pregnant with either of my kids. There aren’t words for how profoundly grateful I am that I didn’t kill them before they were born. They have different fathers. Both times the fathers wanted me, were pressuring me, to abort. (And the second time I was pregnant, the father pressuring me to abort was my husband at the time.) Both times, the people who helped me with moral support to let my children live were devout Catholics. I guess I can come up with a few bucks for a pregnancy center. Make it $100.
Anyway, just this once, I hope you people give your Pope the benefit of the doubt.
Catholic specifically? I know I’ve donated to something in Friendswood TX. No denomination there, I think. I believe Dallas had a Catholic one called White Rose. Probably still does. I think I may have sent some money their way myself long ago.
If you look on maps online for a CPC near you you probably find one in your own state. You can Google its name and probably find their website which will probably have an online donation option.
Thank you. I will, right now, put a note up in the kitchen reminding me and my better half that $100 goes to a crisis pregnancy center before the end of August.
Robert Moynihan in his Letter #79 reports on why Pelosi was in Rome and also gives some credit to Pope Francis:
Has Peggy Noonan been writing Francis’s homilies?
This is a quote from Letter #79 The Moynihan Report (Editor of Inside The Vatican) that he received from a reader:
However, Pelosi did not receive communion from the Pope himself.
One longtime reader, a Catholic lawyer from the Bay area (San Francisco) just wrote to me:
“She did not receive from the Holy Father. The Pope did not give Nancy Pelosi Holy Communion. But that’s what she was shooting for. She wanted to receive Holy Communion from Pope Francis himself but fell short… Nancy went to Rome to present a Congressional gift to the American Consulate and to attend Mass the following day at St. Peter’s which was to be presided over by his Holiness Pope Francis. Before that Mass began when the Pope first came in, Nancy went forward to meet the Pope who greeted her cordially for a few minutes while the cameras filmed the whole thing, which was actually nothing. Nancy was in the House but so what! She wasn’t going to receive Holy Communion from the Holy Father which is what she wanted. Another priest would to do that… Pope Francis only played along so far. He wouldn’t do the deal himself. He knows Nancy thinks of herself as being very devout. But he also knows she has no self reflection. It’s all politics and money. Nothing is moral because it’s all politics. Thats how she was raised in Baltimore when her Dad was the Mayor and the Italians went to St. Leo the Great Catholic Church. There was morality then but not now. It’s all gone. This is Nancy’s contribution to American society. Politics is first… Amen!”
*** From The Moynihan Report
Yes, that’s what is so scandalous about our bishops — including the Holy Father! They’re not just permissive in an “oh, Nancy has to play her politics” way. They’re (knowingly?) allowing Nancy Pelosi to eat judgment upon herself! AB Cordileone (or, as I like to call him, “my friend Sal”) is a much more loving shepherd than these indifferent bishops.
Why are they more concerned with how it might look to deny a prominent American politician Communion when Pelosi’s immortal soul is imperiled?! More concerned with appearances than her eternal destiny? Scandalous doesn’t even cover it. My mother used to say, “the road to hell is paved with the skulls of bad priests.”
And in self-defense, I tried. I tried very hard to cut Bergoglio some slack the first years of his pontificate (my pastor at the time was a huge fan), taking a “wait and see” approach, even though the rumblings among the faithful (@pseudodionysius and Scott, among others) began immediately upon his elevation to the Seat of Peter. But, given the above, those days are over. This is indefensible. On multiple levels (Pelosi’s soul in jeopardy, scandal among the faithful, not to mention profanation of the Holy Eucharist, . . .). It’s inexcusable.
Still inexcusable. If anyone has authority to deny Communion to pro-abortion politicians at the Vatican, it’s Pope Francis. If he had told the priests celebrating Mass with him not to offer Communion to Nancy Pelosi, they would have obeyed. His only excuse for not forewarning them would be that he didn’t know she was coming. I seriously doubt that.
Yes, the faithful (including the clergy) on Earth and in Purgatory and in Heaven are the Church. But, no, we won’t be “taking it back.” The Church is not a democracy (I just said that to a deacon I work with about parishioners pressuring their new pastor in their desired direction). It is Christ’s church and he established it with a threefold hierarchical clergy (deacons, priests, bishops) in reflection and fulfillment of the Old Testament covenant/priesthood, with the bishops carrying apostolic authority through the age of the Church. Faithful Catholics obediently submit to that authority on the teaching of faith and morals. That doesn’t mean we have to submit to the bishops on politics necessarily, or other matters of prudential judgment. But, we’re not going to overthrow the hierarchy.
Francis is a bad pope, but we’ve had bad pope’s before. Suffering offers the chance to accept the grace of perseverance. I strive to keep the faith and ignore Pope Francis as much as possible. It’s one of those Catholic paradoxes G.K. Chesterton loved so much.
I’m with Western Chauvinist. I’ve reached my saturation point with criticisms of Pope Francis, even though I’m sympathetic to most of them. Beyond prayer and fasting (neither of which I’m always attentive to), there’s nothing we can do to change the situation. I know it’s frustrating when Francis makes one of his outlandish statements, but the best we can do is point out that the Church’s correct teaching to those who are ignorant. I know there are those who still try to harmonize Francis’s statements, but that’s a fool’s errand. Point out the error to the ignorant, pray, and fast. That’s all I got.
Is her soul in jeopardy? Good. It should be.
It was a really flippant, hostile, aggressive and cheap thing for Pelosi to do. But, so far, as Someone once said, she has her reward for that. Right ?
I’m sorry she’s choosing to put her soul is in jeopardy, since eternity is, you know, a long time.
Exactly.
And it’s completely typical of this Pope. I just commented on this at The Pillar substack. Pope Francis throws out the pretty words that sound oh so gentle and sweet, but with the substance of cotton candy. Of course the Eucharist is not for the perfect, since who among us is perfect? It is, however, for those in a state of grace, which Nancy Pelosi is manifestly not. Recently, my husband, who is a Catholic convert, had to explain why a beloved, non-Catholic, family member could not receive communion. And then this happens. It’s one kick in the teeth after another with this Pope.
I see, the Pope delegated the sacrilegious blasphemy to someone else. That’s SO much better…
I’m confused about what the priest should do and what the parishioner should do. I would have thought it’s the priest’s job to be honest with you (In Pelosi’s case, also honest publicly) about the state you’re in, and that it’s your job to do something about it.
Pope Francis—-I can’t believe I’m defending Pope Francis. I don’t like him.—-hasn’t contradicted Archbishop Cordileone.
I haven’t been to church in at least 3 years. The last time I went, I didn’t take Communion because I hadn’t been to confession. (I had converted to the Catholic faith and my impression or misperception was that you shouldn’t take Communion if you hadn’t confessed your sins.) Anyway, I didn’t take Communion because I thought the Church had told me, under the circumstances, that I shouldn’t. But I don’t recall seeing any Communion police stopping people.
If my doctor told me I shouldn’t consume something until, say, after a blood test, I wouldn’t expect him to also call Stop & Shop, describe me, and tell them not to sell that product to me. Nancy Pelosi is free to listen or not listen, isn’t she?
If the Church is just something Pelosi uses for her own appearance, status and power here in this life, she has her reward.
Hello @Ansonia.
You said
I am pretty sure that requirement applies to mortal sins, not venial sins.
As @pedroig notes, all one can do is fast and pray. Pope Francis definitely needs our prayers and so does Nancy Pelosi, as Bishop Cordileone has said.
As I noted above, I’m an Orthodox Christian. Communion in the the OC is closed; only Orthodox Christians can receive.
When I lived in NY, my priest regularly gave Communion to the wife of my wife’s cousin. She was Catholic and had been attending my parish for years. She had every opportunity to convert, but hadn’t. She should not have received the Holy Eucharist. (I refrained from presenting myself for Communion until I converted.) Our priest was in a tough position, but he should have refused her.
I’m thankful that the current Greek Orthodox archbishop, Eldipophoros, ordered all priests to stop doing this. My former priest has stopped giving her Communion.
Thank you.
No. I didn’t understand that.
The following is from John L. Allen Jr.’s Crux website (https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2022/06/communion-for-pelosi-at-the-vatican-no-surprise-but-possibly-a-harbinger):
So, Pope Francis is not the first pope to overlook a person’s politics.
I should be clear that I am not a fan of Pope Francis, but this may only be because I compare him unfairly to his excellent predecessors. Also, Ross Douthat’s book on his papacy was a depressing read.
If that’s the belief in your church, and if your former priest knew she wasn’t a convert, it seems to me it was his obligation to explain your church’s view to all attendees through some kind of general reminder that didn’t single anyone out.
If that didn’t work, he should have talked to her, maybe somewhat more privately than would be the case while she’s in line to receive the Holy Eucharist, first to determine how able to understand she was; then, if she seemed able to understand, I would guess he should have explained to her that she needed to convert before receiving the Holy Eucharist.
If, after that explanation, her behavior at the next church service showed she either hadn’t been mentally able or had been able but not willing to “get it”, as they say, what’s the priest supposed to do?
Of course, I don’t know. But why not nothing ? I mean, at least nothing directly about her going up to receive the Holy Eucharist. Certainly the priest could pray for her.
By the way, speaking of mental impairment—-I don’t believe this. Now I’m defending Nancy Pelosi. You people do strange things to me.—-Well the simple fact is a lot of us have been thinking and saying, for at least 3 or 4 years, that Pelosi seems markedly loonier than we’ve always considered her to be. I’ve had Facebook talks with relatives and friends who, after watching a video clip of Pelosi speaking publicly, have said that she seems drunk or drugged in the video. They weren’t trying to mock her at the time. They were just honestly saying that she didn’t seem right.
The tearing up of Trump’s speech didn’t just look nasty. It looked bazaar.
Other times, she seems like her old snake-like self.
So, maybe it isn’t just to us that Pelosi seems “ in and out” these days. Maybe off in the Vatican, Pope Francis has watched the same videos and noticed too; and maybe he wasn’t feeling so sure, when she showed up at church in Italy recently, how much and when Pelosi is or isn’t willing and/or able to “get” certain things, or how much she remembers of her understanding when she’s “out” again after having been “in”.
Refuse her publicly.
But I should say that the family in question were/are large monetary donors to the parish. Which probably had something to do with him giving her Communion. (It shouldn’t have. At least now he has the cover of His Eminence’s directive.)
Have to look up the book.
Well, we’re back to my point earlier. Whatever the state of her mind and soul, Pelosi, in her current position of wealth, power and influence, has the potential not just to give or with hold giving but to use her influence to indirectly hurt a lot of nobody people who are involved in and/or helped by the church. It’s a hostage situation.