Speaker of the House, not the Church

Many of us know that Nancy Pelosi does not speak for the Catholic Church when she talks about values and beliefs. Unfortunately, many do not, and that confusion can be cause for scandal. Some Church leaders do not want to speak up about this for whatever reasons.

Then there clergy who feel morally obligated. Over at Ignatius Insight, Carl Olson highlights a letter one priest wrote to Pelosi.

The California Catholic Daily prints an open letter from Fr. John Malloy, pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco, to Nancy Pelosi:

“Nancy, you are fooling yourself and I fear fooling many good Catholics. You are simply not in sync with the Catholic Church. Until you change your non-Catholic positions, you should stop calling yourself Catholic. Your record shows that you support embryonic stem cell research, Planned Parenthood, contraception, family planning funding, allowing minors to have an abortion without parental consent, and are against making it a crime to harm a fetus, etc. etc.”

Will Pelosi listen? Don’t hold your breath. After all, as Fr. Malloy notes, Pelosi describes herself as a conservative Catholic.

Olson cites an snip from a 2003 National Catholic Reporter article in which Pelosi is asked whether women should be admitted to the priesthood. She reportedly answered “Why not?” She also added that a married priesthood is in the future.

You have to admire the theological rigor of “Why not?” As for the married priesthood, perhaps Pelosi is not aware of the Eastern Catholic churches. Considering her not so impressive grasp of Church teaching, it’s not too much of a surprise.

She speaks for herself.