As the SNL “Church Lady” would say, “isn’t it special” that the Catholic archbishop of San Francisco can get a sweet Fox News pulpit from which to scold Catholic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about her evil, pro-choice ways.
Roger Ailes knew the importance of keeping the Catholic flock firmly within the GOP fold. So, when he was Fox News’ head honcho, you saw lots of Fr. Jonathan Morris (no longer a priest) and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, both of whom were deftly able to weave together Catholic dogma and GOP talking points, such as their opposition to the oh-so-sinful Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandate – opposition which was reinforced by Fox’s stable of professional Catholics.
Ailes is gone but Fox’s conflation of right-wing politics with Catholicism continues.
This was seen on today’s Fox & Friends when San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, without explicitly condemning her, suggested that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a sinner who just might be on the official outs with her church.
When welcomed in January, Cordileone preached that Pelosi and other pro-choice Catholic politicians are “evil” and today’s sermon reinforced that narrative.
Cohost Steve Doocy, a devout Catholic, began by reporting that Archbishop Cordileone has issued “a warning to prominent Catholics who support abortion.” He quoted Cordileone’s letter about how pro-choice Catholics shouldn’t receive the communion and if they can’t renounce abortion, the Church will impose a policy of “temporary exclusion.” Doocy “explained” that “some say” the archbishop’s comment is a “jab” at President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Doocy introduced Cordileone who informed us that the reason that he issued the letter was to reinforce, for Catholics, “respect for the right to life of all human beings” vis-à-vis the requirements for Catholic Communion which he elucidated.
Doocy said “sure” and asked if the prelate would refuse to give Communion to “somebody like Nancy Pelosi."
Cordileone responded that he believes Pelosi understands his position and he couldn’t “envision that situation actually happening. He said that “it's more a matter of avoiding the scandal that can be caused when prominent Catholics in whatever walk of life are advocating something that's a denial of a basic human right, and then claiming to be a good Catholic in good conscience.”
He said he needs to be “very clear in the teaching, Catholics do not deny fundamental human rights and remain in good standing in the church.”
While Cordileone seemed to be avoiding taking a firm position, the Fox banner provided clarification: “Bishop calls to deny communion to pro-choice” while a photo of Nancy Pelosi was juxtaposed beside the archbishop.
Knowing full well what the answer was going to be, Doocy asked if a person could be “a devout, practicing Catholic and support abortion?”
Cordileone, to nobody’s surprise, said “absolutely not” and that his role is to enable Catholics to “understand what this issue is about.”
The sermon continued: "This is the most fundamental right. It's the right to life. We're talking about killing innocent human beings. So, this is a very serious matter. Anyone who cooperates in that is involving themselves in a very serious sin, and absolutely not. That's not possible.”
In response to Doocy’s question about the response to his letter, not surprisingly, Cordileone claimed that all have been “very supportive."
Uh, so, will Cordileone refuse to give Communion to Nancy Pelosi? His rather convoluted rhetoric wasn’t all that clear. But what was clear was that this was a hit piece against Nancy Pelosi. In the comments section of a companion article to the video, it is clear that the Fox/Catholic Church message has reached its intended audience. The “pro-life” cognoscenti are full of homicidal ideation about those Democratic “baby-killers” (Biden, Pelosi frequently referenced) – incendiary stuff that provokes abortion-clinic violence.
Thus is the gospel of Fox News which always falls on fertile soil!
You can watch the sermon below, from the Wednesday May 5, 2021 Fox & Friends.
I agree fully with scooter: any church whose leaders are wont to meddle in the affairs of Caesar (aka politics) should pay taxes like ordinary businesses and individuals. That would go a long way towards paying for stuff that actually helps the common folk.