Nancy Pelosi's archbishop calls on Christians to fast, pray for 'conversion of heart' on abortion
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's archbishop is calling Christians to fast and pray for the Catholic Democrat politician so that she would change her "heart" on abortion.
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco called on "all Catholics and others of goodwill" to fast and pray for Pelosi in a statement released last week.
"A conversion of heart of the majority of our congressional representatives is needed on this issue, beginning with the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi," stated Cordileone.
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"I am therefore inviting all Catholics to join in a massive and visible campaign of prayer and fasting for Speaker Pelosi: Commit to praying one rosary a week and fasting on Fridays for her conversion of heart."
Cordileone said that he believes Pelosi has "a maternal heart" and "speaks fondly" of her five children when discussing her family.
"Pope Francis has called abortion murder, the equivalent of hiring a hitman to solve a problem. The solution to a woman in a crisis pregnancy is not violence but love," he continued.
"Please join me in praying the rosary and fasting for a conversion of Speaker Pelosi's maternal heart to embracing the goodness and dignity of human life not only after birth, but in the womb as well."
Cordileone's call for prayer and fasting came not long after the House of Representatives passed the Women's Health Protection Act, which, if enacted, will codify the right to abortion access into federal law.
Also known as H.R. 3755, the legislation was introduced in June and primarily sponsored by Congresswoman Judy Chu of California.
"Abortion services are essential to health care and access to those services is central to people's ability to participate equally in the economic and social life of the United States," reads the bill.
"Reproductive justice requires every individual to have the right to make their own decisions about having children regardless of their circumstances and without interference and discrimination."
While the bill passed the House primarily along party lines, it's unlikely to pass in the more divided Senate.
Pelosi, a practicing Catholic, has been a strong supporter of the legislation even though the WHPA has been denounced by Catholic Church leadership.
"This is about freedom of women to have choice about the size and timing of their families. Not the business of people on the Court or Members of Congress, about themselves," stated Pelosi last month ahead of the House vote on the bill.
In a Sept. 21 statement, Cordileone called the WHPA "nothing short of child sacrifice."
"Indeed, HR 3755 is surely the type of legislation one would expect from a devout Satanist, not a devout Catholic," he argued. "A child is not an object to be thrown away, and neither is a mother's heart."
In May, Cordileone released a pastoral letter directed towards Catholics who advocate for abortion. He recommended that they should not receive communion.
"Your Catholic ideals inspire you in your work to help those who experience discrimination, violence, and injustice, and you deserve the gratitude of your fellow Catholics and our nation for this service. But we cannot empower the weak by crushing the weakest," wrote Cordileone.
"If you find that you are unwilling or unable to abandon your advocacy for abortion, you should not come forward to receive Holy Communion. To publicly affirm the Catholic faith while at the same time publicly rejecting one of its most fundamental teachings is simply dishonest."
