The Honor Of God

On Meet the Press, 24 August 2008, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, was asked about her divergence from the Catholic Church on the issue of when life begins. She responded that “as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And Senator—St. Augustine said at three months. We don’t know. The point is, is that it shouldn’t have an impact on the woman’s right to choose.”1. Bishops Respond to House Speaker Pelosi’s Misrepresentation of Church Teaching - Cardinal Justin F. Rigali and Bishop William E. Lori
Cardinal Rigali, chairman of the U. Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop Lori, chairman of the Committee on Doctrine, responded to Speaker Pelosi, saying that she “misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion.”

2. Statement on the Unborn - Cardinal Edward Egan
A statement by Cardinal Egan of New York, released on 26 August 2008, in response to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s remarks on Meet the Press, 24 August 2008, regarding the impact of the Church’s historic uncertainty about when life begins in the womb on a “woman’s right to choose.”

3. On the Separation of Sense and State: A Clarification for the People of the Church in Northern Colorado - Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
In an address to Catholics of the Archdiocese of Denver, Colorado, dated 25 August 2008, Archbishop Charles Chaput took exception to Speaker Pelosi’s implication that the Church’s teaching was ever unclear on the impermissibility of abortion.

4. On the Church and Abortion - Archbishop Donald Wuerl
In a statement released on 25 August, Archbishop Wuerl, of the Diocese of Washington, D.C., made clear that when life begins in the womb is not an issue of controversy in the Church, as Speaker Pelosi asserted, and he cited the Catechism of the Catholic Church to that effect.

5. In Response to House Speaker Pelosi’s Remarks Concerning Abortion - Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, S.T.D., and Bishop Oscar Cantú, D.D.
Archbishop Gomez and Bishop Cantu, of San Antonio, Texas, join the bishops of the United States in response to House Speaker Pelosi’s remarks concerning abortion.

6. Statement Challenging Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Statement On Abortion - Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
Archbishop Nienstedt reinforced the statements by Cardinal Rigali, Bishop Lori, and Archbishop Chaput against Speaker Pelosi’s misrepresentation of when life begins.

7. Nancy Pelosi’s Misinformed Comments - Bishop Samuel Aquila
Bishop Aquila, of Fargo, North Dakota, in an Aug. 26 letter to priests, deacons, seminarians and others, noted that Pelosi’s comments on abortion and Catholic teaching, were misinformed and likely to lead to confusion on Catholic teaching.

8. Regarding the Evil of Procured Abortion - Bishop Michael J. Sheridan
The Bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs observes that, from the first century, “the Church has taught that abortion is gravely immoral.” Those who take a public stance contrary to this teaching “should not present themselves for the reception of Holy Communion.”

9. Response to Remarks of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi - Bishop Jerome E. Listecki
The Bishop of the Diocese of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, drew attention to the irony of Pelosi’s recourse to theology, in order to throw doubt on the findings of science, that life begins in the womb at conception.