In the September 5 edition of Catholic San Francisco, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Archbishop George H. Niederauer has a column that addresses House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent comments on abortion. The piece ends by stating that he has asked to meet with her about this matter.

On August 24, Pelosi said on “Meet the Press” that the Catholic Church was not always opposed to abortion, and that many Catholics today take a different position on this issue. Three days later, Pelosi’s office issued a statement that essentially restated her remarks, though it acknowledged that the Church was today opposed to abortion.

Subsequently, many Catholics, including Archbishop Niederauer, chided Pelosi for misrepresenting Catholic teaching on abortion. Moreover, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops not only issued a news release criticizing Pelosi for her comments, on September 2 it also released a two-page document outlining the Catholic Church’s historical opposition to abortion since the first century.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke to this issue today:

“San Francisco Archbishop Niederauer did not force this issue on Nancy Pelosi—she forced it on him. His article is a cogent account of what the bishops expect from Catholics in public life, spelling out in great detail how the process works when dissidents like Pelosi continue in their obstinacy. The Church regards abortion to be ‘intrinsically evil.’

“Four years ago, another Catholic dissident on this subject, New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, did the right thing by announcing that he would abide by the Church’s strictures and no longer present himself for Communion. That is exactly what Pelosi should have done. Instead, she chose to defy the teachings of the Catholic Church, misrepresent them in public and continue to insist that she is right. Thus has she beckoned her bishop to act. The ball is in her court. Practicing Catholics, of course, strongly support Archbishop Niederauer.

On August 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Tom Brokaw on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the Catholic Church has not been able to decide when life begins; she was quickly criticized by many bishops and lay Catholics (including the Catholic League) for misrepresenting the Church’s teaching. No source of criticism was more important than that of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Three days later, Pelosi’s office issued a statement acknowledging that the Church teaches that life begins at conception. However, it also said that St. Augustine offered a different perspective and opined that “many Catholics do not ascribe to that [the Church’s] view.”

Yesterday, the USCCB issued another statement: it was a two-page reply that offered a historical account of the Catholic Church’s teaching on abortion. The release makes it clear that the Church has always been unequivocally opposed to abortion. The new statement was written to “help end confusion caused by recent misrepresentations of Catholic Church teaching on abortion,” a process that was “prompted by misleading remarks by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue weighed in as follows:

“Nancy Pelosi continues to give currency to the idea that the Church’s teaching on abortion has evolved over time, and that in any case there is more than one legitimate Catholic position on this subject. She is twice wrong. It is precisely because of people like Morton Kondracke of the Fox News Channel, Anthony Stevens-Arroyo of the Newsweek-Washington Post ‘On Faith’ blog site, and anti-Catholic groups such as Catholics for Choice, that the confusion continues to rage. All of them defend Pelosi’s ignorant remarks.

“Nineteen Catholic members of the House have publicly asked Pelosi to ‘correct the public record’ on this issue. Her steadfast refusal to do so is keeping this matter alive. One wonders what it will take to get her to retract her comments before more damage is done to the Catholic Church, to her and to the Democratic Party.”

Keith Fimian, the Republican candidate for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, has been targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in a series of mailings and video clips. He is accused of “rolling back women’s rights.” The basis of the accusation is Fimian’s membership in a Catholic organization, Legatus.

Speaking to this issue today is Catholic League president Bill Donohue:

“Keith Fimian, whom I have never spoken to, is accused by the DCCC of being anti-women because he belongs to Legatus. Legatus is an organization of Catholic CEOs and other leading businessmen and women dedicated to bringing their faith-based values to the workplace. Actually, one of their supporters said it better: ‘The world needs genuine witness to Christian ethics in the field of business, and the Church asks you to fulfill this role publicly and with perseverance.’ Those are the words that Pope John Paul II used when he addressed Legatus.

“According to the DCCC, then, Pope John Paul II was extending his support to an organization that wants to rob women of their rights. I don’t think that the DCCC’s president, Nancy Pelosi, really wants to go there, especially coming on the heels of being slammed by the Catholic bishops’ conference for misrepresenting Catholic teaching on abortion.

“The DCCC is also guilty of lying. To wit: It says Legatus ‘promotes groups supporting a radical agenda.’ In fact, Legatus doesn’t promote any group. Like many other organizations, it has a ‘Links’ section on its website that lists other groups. What the DCCC doesn’t say is that Legatus explicitly states that it does ‘not necessarily endorse all of the content or the views contained in the sites.’ The DCCC knows this, but chose to lie anyway.

“Fimian’s challenger, Gerald Connolly, should tell the DCCC to cease and desist with the Catholic bashing immediately. That Connolly himself is Catholic is irrelevant—what matters is that he denounce anti-Catholic bigotry, especially when he stands to benefit from its dissemination.”

Contact Gerald Connolly at info@gerryconnolly.com