WASHINGTON (RNS) — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a rare public rebuke of her home bishop on Thursday (March 23), voicing choice words for Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and other prelates during a wide-ranging interview about the intersection of politics and her Catholic faith.Her remarks came during an event hosted by Georgetown University’s Center on Faith and Justice as part of a “Higher Calling” series focused on the faith of politicians. When Jim Wallis, the center’s executive director, mentioned that people of faith “don’t always agree with the leaders of our church on every matter of policy,” Pelosi referenced tensions between herself and members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as a result of her public advocacy for abortion rights.
Without mentioning him by name, Pelosi singled out Cordileone, who oversees her home archdiocese of San Francisco. Cordileone barred Pelosi from receiving Communion in churches under his purview last year because of her stance on legalizing abortion.
“I have a problem with my archbishop,” she said, “and I figure that’s his problem, not mine.”
Friction between bishops and Catholic Democrats over abortion, which the Catholic Church condemns, eventually spurred at least three other bishops to bar Pelosi from Communion in their dioceses as well. Despite the bans, Pelosi has co …
Pelosi on cleric who barred her from Communion: ‘That’s his problem, not mine’
