In an interview with Eleanor Clift, Nancy Pelosi justifies her position and shows her unwillingness to seek the truth despite her bishop’s attempts to correct her. Here are excerpts from that interview and my own comments.
Pelosi: I talked to one of the cardinals. I said to him that I believe that what we are doing honors the principles we talked about: we want to pass a health-care bill, we want it to be abortion neutral, and we want it to [have] no federal funding [for abortion], which is the law. And we believe that our language does that. They said, "We believe that it does not." I said, let's sit down at the table and our lawyers can compare language. That's what the meeting was about—to make our case. Clearly, the people at that table were not willing to accept what we know to be a fact.
When the cardinals said, “We believe that it does not.” She should respond with, “How so?” instead of my lawyers will beat your lawyers in a debate to prove that I am right.
Pelosi: I have some concerns about the church's position respecting a woman's right to choose. I have some concerns about the church's position on gay rights. I am a practicing Catholic, although they're probably not too happy about that.
In other words, she cannot accept the Church’s teaching and guidance on these subjects. A practicing Catholic is someone who abides by the teachings of the Church. Her proclamation is for the interview to give an erroneous perception that one can be a practicing Catholic and reject the Church’s stances.
Pelosi: But it is my faith.
It may be her faith, but it is not the faith of the followers of Jesus. She must have started her own church that we were unaware of.
Pelosi: I practically mourn this difference of opinion because I feel what I was raised to believe is consistent with what I profess
The differences are between her opinion and the objective truth presented by the official teachers which is not an opinion. She needs to seek the truth instead of mourning her divergence from it. And whatever she was raised to believe is being corrected by the bishop, so why is she reluctant to relinquish those errors?
Pelosi:…what I profess, and that is that we are all endowed with a free will and a responsibility to answer for our actions.
The fact that we are endowed with a free will and responsibility to answer for our actions does not affirm that it is correct, moral and good to abort one’s child. Free will is not a license to kill. It is an opportunity to do the right thing without coercion.
Pelosi: And that women should have that opportunity to exercise their free will.
She means that women should be able to choose abortion legally. Should rapists be able to rape legally as an exercise of their free will?
Pelosi: When I speak to my archbishop in San Francisco and his role is to try to change my mind on the subject, well then he is exercising his pastoral duty to me as one of his flock. When they call me on the phone here to talk about, or come to see me about an issue, that's a different story. Then they are advocates, and I am a public official, and I have a different responsibility.
Is she a Catholic public official or a public official who is also Catholic? Then again, if the bishops advocate the rights of the unborn then there is really no difference because that is not just a Catholic thing. It is about the universal and inalienable rights of everyone - born or unborn.
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