San Francisco Examiner editorial board condemns archbishop for denying Pelosi communion

The San Francisco Examiner’s editorial board has condemned the city’s archbishop, Salvatore Cordileone, after he banned Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) from receiving Holy Communion over her advocacy for abortion.

Cordileone had previously written to Pelosi on Friday, telling her that she will no longer be allowed to partake in Communion. He said in his letter: “You are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

In response to this news, the Examiner’s left-leaning editorial board wrote a report denouncing the archbishop for seeking to “deprive her of a key component of her faith,” adding, “but where is his zeal for punishment and purity when it comes to right-wing politicians? Why don’t Republican Catholics have to fear being cut off from Communion when they vote against health care or funding for the poor? Where was Cordileone’s harsh judgment when right-wing politicians voted this week against a measure to ease the nation’s baby formula shortage?”

The board praised Pelosi for having “consistently fought on the morally right side of these issues.”

They further claimed that by banning Pelosi from partaking in Communion, the archbishop wasn’t being faithful to Christ.

“Cordileone’s chief loyalty is not to Christ, but to the cabal of far-right American bishops led by Raymond Leo Burke, a Catholic prelate who has led a continual campaign to undermine Pope Francis’ authority,” the board wrote.

“We repeat the call for Pope Francis to remove him and replace him with a leader who can unify rather than divide. Cordileone’s radical conservative politics might attract more people to the faith in places like Oklahoma or Texas, but his partisan pomposity will win no converts in San Francisco,” the board added.

Concluding their report, the board commended Pelosi’s Catholicism, saying, “It is Nancy Pelosi, not Archbishop Cordileone, who reflects the true spirit of Christian care in the City of St. Francis. For the Catholic Church to continue to thrive here, we need a leader who opens the church’s doors to all, not a small-minded man who locks out his political adversaries.”

Following, the archbishop’s announcement, “#TaxTheChurch” began to trend on Twitter. Users criticized the archbishop’s decision, with one person saying, “If the church can prevent someone from receiving the Holy Communion because of their political beliefs, SHOULDN’T THE CHURCH BE TAXED???”

However, others argued against such ideas, with another user writing, “Not an incendiary opinion, just a sensible one: #TaxTheChurch is trending again because of reasons, but yet again I am reminding you that the first churches to close will be tiny congregations, many of whom serve people of color. Stop it.”